A Fresh Cup of Coffee
by lydiarogue
Summary: When huntsmen in training go to an academy, they get placed on a team at random with three of their peers. The hope is that they will learn from one another, and that this will prepare them for life after they graduate. They are often expected to continue to work together as a team - or at least as friends - after graduation. However, this doesn't always go according to plan.
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** Cover art by Blackmors on Tumblr - post/152800947294/marykay91-from-your-most-recent-chapter-if-you

* * *

Fox had three options to get to the cliff on his own, and he wasn't keen on any of them. Opening up his aura and using his semblance to help him navigate was out of the question with so many people in the room. He could stumble through the locker room without any aid, following the noisy crowd of his classmates and risk injuring himself before he even got outside. Alternatively, he could pull out the cane he had stowed in his locker for emergencies and use that - but then he would have to carry it with him during initiation or somehow stow it out on the cliff and get it later.

As he reviewed his options, Coco placed her hand on his arm, offering him a fourth option - to have her lead him.

He took the arm, telling himself that it wasn't a sign of weakness, and that he didn't want to be partnered with anyone who thought it was one anyway.

"I'll come looking for you," she promised as they made their way out to where Goodwitch was summoning them.

Fox grinned at her. "Yeah, unless I find a better partner first."

Scoffing, she helped him get situated on a launch pad. "Yeah, sure. You find someone better than me and we'll talk."

He reached up to muss her beret, cracking a smile when she grumbled. "Yeah, yeah, fearless leader." They both knew it was an empty threat, having watched each other's back since they were kids. The thought of _not_ being on a team together was nearly unbearable. They'd looked into how teams were determined before enrolling. Beacon didn't give them the most control over partner pairs, but it seemed to give them the most choices after. With a final playful shove he turned back to Goodwitch just in time to hear the last of the instructions.

"Your partner will be the first person you make eye contact with," Goodwitch was saying. "You will be monitored. We will partner you with the first person you make eye contact with, regardless of whether you or they are aware."

Fox suppressed a grimace as she finished her speech and the launchpads started throwing students into the air without warning. At least no one would be able to pretend they hadn't made eye contact with him - but he really didn't want to be paired with someone who would pretend they hadn't been.

He needn't have worried though; he had barely hit the ground when heard the familiar sound of Coco's weapon mowing through grimm. Her easy call of - "Hey partner, good of you to finally join me!" had the tension easing out of his shoulders.

Their four years at Beacon were going to be great.

* * *

Velvet's ears drooped as she waited her turn to start initiation. She knew that she'd be dropped into the wilderness soon, left to fend for herself until she managed to find a partner and eventually a team. The grimm didn't scare her, even though they'd be different than the ones she'd fought in Menagerie.

Her classmates on the other hand… she looked around at the thinning group of students. Most of them were ignoring her, but she remembered the jeers from the night before and even earlier that day. She'd made a friend out of one person - even if he'd been a little bit intimidating when she'd first met him, so she held out hope she could at least _partner_ with someone who wasn't going to hate her on sight.

But she didn't have time to dwell on it - her name was being called and moments later she was flying through the air.

She crashed through the foliage, coming to a rolling stop beneath a giant oak. The first thing she did was check her weapon. All she had was a handful of generic, unmodified weapons on it, but it was something if she needed them.

There was already a fight going on nearby, with someone shouting about an ursa, and she thought about going to investigate. However she knew the person who shouted back - a classmate of hers from Sanctum. They certainly weren't on her list of good candidates for a partner, so she turned and went the other way instead.

She couldn't help but be grateful of her ability to choose to walk away. The nearly-complete freedom to choose a partner to her liking was why she'd chosen this school. Turning away from her old classmate, she skirted around the edge of a swamp towards the sound of another fight. An ape-like howl of pain told her it was likely a beringel - and she could only hear a single combatant taking it on. That was more promising - though, as she made her way into the small clearing, an ursa came up behind her, swiping at her with its paw and sending her careening into her classmate and sealing their fate as partners before she even knew who it was.

"Ah _fuck_." She knew the voice - she didn't even have to look up to realize exactly how screwed she was. "I can't believe I'm stuck with an _animal_ as my partner. I'd be better off with that ursa."

Her four years at Haven were going to be _torturous_ with Melanctha as her partner.

* * *

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, confirming his suspicion that he was being watched. He didn't mind - they'd approach him if they felt comfortable. He didn't want to push. Yatsuhashi liked to think that he'd be approachable to a shyer classmate, but he knew that his size could be intimidating to some.

He would prefer one of his quieter classmates, given a choice, but he also knew that turning around and looking for them wouldn't start their partnership off the way he wanted.

So he walked towards the temple, letting his shadow stick to the underbrush.

Eventually a man with long, green hair popped out in front of him, brown eyes meeting his. The man wasn't significantly shorter than Yatsuhashi's seven foot build, which was surprising. "Hey!" he grinned as he looked around and saw no one else. "I got to you first?"

"Yes, I believe this makes us partners. I am Yatsuhashi Daichi."

"Sweet!" He threw a fist into the air. "Farris Roke. I'm so glad to have found you first."

Yatsuhashi cocked his head. He didn't recognize the young man from anywhere.

"Apologies, I don't recall having met you before."

He shook his head, hair flying everywhere. "Nope, but you looked like you'd be a strong fighter. Figured I'd at least try to find someone who would be able to contribute to the team."

Yatsuhashi's heart sank at Farris's words. "I'm sure all of our classmates are more than capable fighters," he countered gently.

His partner shrugged. "Still, wouldn't want to be carrying my partner for four years. Plus, you should be grateful - I'm pretty sure the person who's been following you is scared of their own shadow. You'd have spent your entire time protecting them." He leaned in conspiratorially and added, "I don't think they're human either."

Yatsuhashi looked back over his shoulder, catching only the smallest glimpse of blue hair before they disappeared into the trees. "Human or faunus, I wouldn't have minded."

Farris's eyes narrowed and he raised his weapon to Yatsuhashi. "You _are_ human, right?"

He took a step back and raised his empty hands. "I am. I just don't hate faunus."

Lowering his weapon, Farris nodded. "Fine. Let's go get an artifact before it gets dark."

He sighed and followed his partner into the woods, slowly starting to dread the coming four years at Beacon.

* * *

"Farris Roke. Yatsuhashi Daichi. Fox Alistair. Coco Adel. The four of you retrieved the four of hearts. From this day forward, you will work together as team CFFY. Led by… Coco Adel."

 _Leader._ She wasn't quite sure what to make of it.

There would be some who said she only got the position because of her family - the Adel name carried a lot of weight.

Fox nudged her shoulder. "I knew you'd be leader."

Yatsuhashi smiled and bowed ever so slightly, easing some of her worries about how her teammates would react, though Farris's face gave away none of his thoughts.

Coco had been raised to believe in the power of the Adel name. But she'd seen _what_ the power of the Adel name could do, and that's why she had gone to Beacon instead of pursuing a career in the family business. Her mother thought it was a short stint to build up her appearance, but, in reality, Coco was in it for the long run.

She warned Fox about the stage's stairs as they got to them, glaring a hole into the back of Farris's head at his derisive snort. "Is there a _problem_?" she asked.

"Just worried about everyone on the team pulling their own weight."

She bristled at the implication, but Fox put his hand on her shoulder and gave it a small squeeze. _Let me handle it,_ the signal meant.

Leader or not, Fox was her best friend, and it wasn't her place to interfere on his behalf - not for this.

* * *

The awkward tension followed them to their dorm room where they each claimed a bed. Farris had barely set down his luggage before turning to the other three.

"So what are your semblances?" he immediately asked, folding his arms across his chest. "I didn't see any of you use them during initiation."

Coco had, of course, as had Fox. She wasn't sure about Yatsuhashi though.

"What can you do, Farris?" she asked, trying to gauge his reaction.

"I can teleport." He demonstrated, popping across the room and back in the blink of an eye. "What can you do? I bet you have something super powerful as an Adel!"

Coco pursed her lips. She hated her semblance. It was a "gift" from her mother - the Adel legacy. "I can read auras, get information from people and grimm by studying them. Some information comes faster than others."

"You can… read auras?" Farris asked, cocking his head in confusion.

Not as well as some of her family members could, but it was enough to rattle people. "It might be easier for me to just demonstrate," Coco said. "Yatsuhashi, may I?" She refused to do it without permission.

He stiffened slightly and forced a smile. "Of course," he said with a glance over at Farris.

She tilted her head at his reaction. "I don't have to," she offered, following his gaze to their teammate.

"No, it's fine."

She didn't draw attention to his obvious discomfort, just promised herself that she would only mention what was absolutely necessary.

With grimm it was different. She could instantly read which one of the pack was the alpha, pick up on any existing injuries. She'd honed her skills to read them, not humans, much to her mother's dismay. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, focusing on her teammate.

Race was easiest. She barely had to concentrate to pick up on the information - and that's where she found the source of Yatsu's anxiety. "You're human," she confirmed, refusing to voice the quarter faunus she could detect.

There was a derisive snort from Farris that nearly drowned out Yatsuhashi's relieved sigh. "Is that it?"

"Your armor is on your left arm because an old injury means you've got a slower reaction time with that arm - not by much, but enough," she continued. That would be info that was needed to fight together effectively. "Your semblance is a healing one - aura sharing?" she guessed, opening her eyes.

Yatsuhashi was smiling - a real one. "That's right. I can't heal, but if your aura is drained I can share some of mine to keep you going - at the expense of my own. What about you, Fox?"

"Honestly, mine isn't all that special. I can sense auras - even through walls and the like - and grimm. I can tell when and where you're injured or when you're using your semblance, but beyond that I can't really use the information for much." Fox let out a small laugh. "It's great for finding people in rubble. I don't have to know they're there, just be within about 50 feet if I focus. I pick up on stuff passively, I don't have to focus like Coco does. Inanimate objects still trip me up though, and in crowds it can be overwhelming."

Farris threw his hands up into the air when Fox finished his explanation. "Seriously? That's all you've got? I can _teleport_ short distances. My semblance can _actually_ be used for battle, or did you forget that we'd be fighting when you signed up for Beacon?" He stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

"Fuck." Coco covered her face with her hands. "That could have gone better."

"Thank you, for lying." She looked up at Yatsuhashi's words. "Or could you not tell?" he amended.

"I could tell." She shrugged, still not willing to reveal his secret. "Wasn't about to tell the whole truth."

"My maternal grandmother was a faunus." He looked down at his clenched fists. "I've never hidden it but…" He looked up briefly at his partner's empty bed.

"We won't tell him," Fox said. "It's… probably best if we didn't."

* * *

The four of them built a tentative partnership with one another. Fox and Coco's long-standing friendship couldn't be matched, but for the most part they were living together in harmony - or at least, they pretended to.

The facade cracked in the forest of Forever Fall. It was supposed to be an easy test - go to the forest, fight a handful of easy grimm and collect the sap Professor Peach needed.

In all fairness, a king taijitu the size of a house didn't fit into anyone's definition of _easy_ , but it shouldn't have caused quite so many issues for them.

Coco had taken point when team CFFY had been separated from the main group with the leader of another team. She shouted to Farris to stay with the leader - a faunus - who had been injured by the ursa pack they were fighting.

She didn't expect that he would be angry with the order - nor that the spike of negativity would draw in a larger, more dangerous grimm.

Farris's response was immediate: "What do you mean you want me to stay here and guard an _animal_? Why not leave Yatsuhashi? At least he likes those _freaks_!"

Coco took two deep breaths, willing her emotions to stay neutral. "We _will_ be talking about this. Stay put."

Yatsuhashi exchanged a look with his leader as he took the sword off his back once more. "I will stay here as well." It was a wise decision not to leave anyone alone in the woods, but he didn't trust Farris alone with the injured woman.

Coco gave a short nod of agreement. "We'll go get Goodwitch. Be safe," she said and took off with Fox back towards the main group.

Yatsuhashi turned to his partner, who was twitching. "Control yourself, Farris, we can't afford to attract more grimm."

He paced around the small clearing. "Can't you just" he waved his hands around "heal her?"

Yatsuhashi shook his head. "I can share my aura to help the healing process, but her leg needs to be set first. It would be dangerous for me to attempt now."

"What good are you, then?" Farris snapped. They both jumped and turned when an ursa crashed through the clearing. The beast was larger than any that they'd seen that day, but was completely uninterested in the three of them, disappearing back into the forest as quickly as it had appeared.

"Farris, now isn't the time to - "

"I'm not sticking around to guard her when there could be more of them - did you see the size of that ursa? I'm out of here!"

"Farris, don't!" Yatsuhashi called, but his partner had already bolted after Fox and Coco, leaving him alone in the woods.

He closed his eyes and listened, trying to keep an ear out for any additional grimm. Yatsuhashi told himself it wasn't that different from initiation.

The only warning he got was the snap of a low-hanging branch being ripped off a tree. The king taijitu was bigger than he'd ever seen for any grimm.

Every nerve screamed with the instinct to run - this wasn't a fight he could win on his own. But he had to stay here and protect the young woman.

"Coco!" he shouted in the vain hope she might hear before stepping forward to attack.

* * *

"Miss Adel."

Coco stared down at her trembling hands. "I can't do it, Ozpin," she finally said, admitting defeat. "I can't lead team CFFY."

She didn't look up at the sound of him putting his mug back down. "Are you withdrawing from Beacon?" She shook her head. "Then what makes you say that?"

"It - _Farris_. He just causes such tension in the room whenever he's there. We just don't get along - and while none of us are faunus, we certainly don't agree with his views. It's created a huge divide on the team - none of us trust him at our backs, he doesn't listen"

She finally looked up at Ozpin, who was taking a sip from his mug.

"Miss Adel, the point of initiation is to put you with people you might not otherwise interact with. As huntsmen we are sometimes called to help people we might not agree with. You've signed up to protect our kingdoms."

Coco growled. "I _understand_ that, but when I'm seriously considering walking away over this, there's something _wrong_. He nearly got someone killed last week."

"We don't rearrange teams lightly, Miss Adel."

She clenched her fists. "I _understand_ that," she snapped again, trying to wrangle her temper back under control. "This is not an idle request, Headmaster."

He stood, picking up his cane and mug. "I will take it into consideration if something comes up, but in the meantime, please try to work with him. If I didn't think you could lead team CFFY, I wouldn't have made you leader."

* * *

The cracks in the facade only grew as time went on. The problems had always been there, but after the incident with the king taijitu, they were nearly impossible to ignore.

Fox had developed an easy friendship from the start with Yatsuhashi - he was quiet and reserved and always picked up after himself. Fox knew it wouldn't be reasonable to expect his teammates to accommodate him with the same ease that Coco did after years of friendship, but it was quickly becoming apparent that one of his teammates wasn't even trying.

The robotic voice dictated the message from Farris to him. It wasn't that the scroll reader didn't work - he'd just grown to prefer hearing his teammates' voices. "Hey, Farris?" he called when he walked into the dorm room.

There was a grunt from one of the desks.

"It really would be nice if you could just use the voice messaging feature for messages." It was hardly the first time Fox had asked - it was getting to the point that even Yatsuhashi had noticed. "Sorry" was the only response he got. Fox bit back an exasperated sigh. It wasn't the worst thing in the world. He could manage. What he couldn't manage was the fact that Farris had left his boots out in the middle of the path again. "Could you _please_ pick up your shoes?" Fox snapped. Even with the reflexes of a huntsman in training, he very nearly fell into the foot board of the nearby bed.

" _Sorry_." The chair scraping against the floor accompanied his drawn out and sarcastic response. "I'm not sure why I should have to work at this _anyway_. It's not like you'll be able to last here. Team CFFY would be better off without you." He sat back down noisily, and added "Coco's too soft on you. I'd never have tolerated you as a partner" under his breath.

Fox recoiled as if he'd been slapped, not entirely sure if he'd been meant to hear the last bit. "I'm going to teach Yatsu some braille in the library, would you like to join us?" he offered, knowing he should try to keep the peace.

"I'm busy," was the muttered retort.

He grabbed a couple of books off the shelf and waved as he left - tripping over Farris's shoes again on his way out.

* * *

"Well _maybe_ if you picked up your stuff every once in awhile it'd be easier for me!"

Yatsuhashi raised an eyebrow at the sound of Fox's voice - audible from the other end of the hallway. It was a fight that had been brewing for weeks at this point. Yatsu had gotten a tongue-lashing from Farris when he'd moved his partner's shoes out of the walkway for Fox. He knew it wasn't the only time Farris had done something like that. He contemplated just letting them go, but they might actually need a referee lest they do actual damage to one another.

But, to his surprise and dismay, it wasn't Farris's voice that cut through the hallway a moment later - it was _Coco's_. "I try to always put my stuff away - this isn't fair for one mistake. For fuck's sake, Fox - I'm sorry that you can't handle me being leader but we agreed to do this _together!_ "

"Well, maybe if becoming leader didn't mean you'd turn your back on me I'd be more willing to work under you! Maidens, Coco, you've been picking up after yourself for _years_. A little power and you forget about your 'best friend.'"

"If you weren't questioning my every decision, I'd think I still _had_ a best friend!"

Yatsuhashi sighed and pushed the door open. Neither of his teammates reacted when he entered, completely engrossed in their argument. "Fox. Coco." He didn't raise his voice, but the low rumble cut through the fighting regardless. "What happened?" he asked, sitting down on his bed.

"Coco left her purse in the walkway _again._ "

Yatsuhashi didn't let his surprise at the venom in Fox's voice show. He turned to Coco. "Fox said I didn't care about him anymore ever since becoming leader." Her voice was like steel, but when she swiped a finger beneath her sunglasses, it was clear she'd begun to tear up.

"Are you sure you're actually angry with one another?" When neither responded he sighed and spoke to them in turn. "Fox, I've never seen you trip over Coco's stuff before - I'm always seeing you trip over _Farris's_ shoes though."

"Coco - Fox doesn't question you. He'd follow you into a burning forest and trust you to get him out in one piece. It wasn't him who bickered with you in Forever Fall and nearly got someone killed for it." Yatsuhashi clenched his fists at the memory. "That was _Farris_."

The tension that was choking the room slowly bled out - but didn't go away completely. While they may have been mildly irritated with one another, their reactions were blown out of proportion by their underlying anger with Farris. They had been friends for years and that wasn't going to change because of one small slip-up.

"He said team CFFY was better off without me," Fox admitted, shoulders slumping.

Coco started to respond then stopped, pulling out her scroll to check something. "Farris never sends voice messages," Coco said, turning to Fox and covering her mouth with one hand. "How did I not notice?"

Fox bent down to pick up her purse, holding it out like an olive branch. "Same reason I didn't notice how he was treating you - too wrapped up in my own issues."

Coco secured it under her bed and then walked over to him. "Don't think I haven't noticed the way you aren't sleeping, big guy." She placed one gloved hand on his chin and turned his face up towards hers, meeting his eyes without her shades in the way. "What's wrong? Is it Farris too?"

He really should have seen this coming. "I just don't trust him. I don't know if he would try to do something if he knew about my grandmother, but it makes it hard to relax and sleep at night. It's nothing, really. Not like what you two have been - "

She held up her hand and cut him off. "It's a legitimate concern. You shouldn't have to hide from your own teammates, you should be able to trust them to have your back." She shook her head and scrubbed at her face. "I had a meeting with Ozpin yesterday. He wants us to try and work with Farris. I'll keep the headmaster in the loop, but I don't think anything's going to change, not unless Farris becomes openly hostile."

* * *

 _Velvet took a steadying breath as she opened the door to her dorm room. Her teammates were already there and had rearranged the furniture, isolating one desk and bed in the far corner of the room. Someone had hung a sign up on the other side of the room that read "No Animals Allowed." She forced a smile and greeted them cheerfully._

* * *

"He's dangerous, and it could easily escalate to more, but right now I think Ozpin is right and we're going to have to try and work with him," Yatsuhashi said. "Maybe we can schedule a meeting with the counselor to talk about what's going on and try and fix things."

* * *

 _She could almost convince herself it had been accidental - that her partner hadn't deliberately tripped her down the stairs, but the mocking laughter told her otherwise. Later that day, Velvet was the only one who had bothered to show up for their team meeting with the school counselor._

* * *

"That could work. Maybe Farris doesn't realize how difficult he's being?" Fox offered. "But you're right, it's not _that_ bad. We've just got to learn to work together. I'm sure the team dynamics would have to be much worse for them to rearrange them. It's not like he's trying to kill any of us or anything."

* * *

 _Velvet clutched the wound on her stomach to try and stop the bleeding. Her head spun as she stumbled into the infirmary, and she left a smear of blood so dark it was nearly black on the door. A nurse rushed to her side, helping her onto an examination table. "Tell Headmaster Lionheart I tried," Velvet managed before passing out._

* * *

AN: I nearly named Farris "Fuzzy Wuzzy" and Melanctha "Razzle Dazzle" because I was just so done with trying to find names. (You can thank StVincent for sparing us all.)

The Haven initiation process presented here is based off a rather bizarre headcanon my friends and I came up with for team SSSN. Their initiation is like Beacon, but you have to touch people and you fight until you have a team of four and then you make your way back to school. Something went wrong with team SSSN and they all got launched into the air at the exact same time, crashing into one another before they ever hit the ground. It was unanimously decided by the professors monitoring it that the team would either die before reaching the school or be one of the best teams to ever attend Haven out of sheer luck.

Current plan for the fic is to follow through to the end of Volume 3. Fic rating shouldn't change. Most of the canon characters will likely pop in now and again. In the meantime, you can yell at me in the comments or on Tumblr (MaryKay91 or LydiaRogue).


	2. Chapter 2

Coco resisted the urge to bang her head against the elevator wall. Settling for a silent wish that the lift would move faster, she rubbed her temples.

Farris was pacing around the enclosed space like a caged tiger. "This is all your fault you know. They'd better not expel us. We don't need to talk to the school counselor. I really think you were overreacting. Our team is perfectly fine, well, maybe we could do without - "

Yatsuhashi interrupted the ranting. "Farris, we have no idea why Ozpin wants to talk to us. It could be completely unrelated to the appointment we have set up on Friday."

Thankfully, the elevator doors opened into Ozpin's office before anyone could respond.

The headmaster was sitting at his desk on the far side of the room with four additional chairs placed across from him.

"Thank you for joining me," he said as they sat down. "It's recently come to my attention that the four of you are having some difficulties learning to work together as a team. When this was first brought to my attention, I noted that it's not something we would normally interfere with, and encouraged you to seek additional counseling." He paused to take a sip from his mug.

"I would like to commend you for the work you've put into this so far, even though I'm sure you've encountered some setbacks." He glanced at Farris briefly before focusing on Coco again. "Something has come up, however. While we don't rearrange teams lightly, we will in extreme circumstances.

"There is a student at Haven Academy who is in need of an immediate transfer. Normally, the student in question would simply go to a team that was short one member. We were extremely lucky this year in that there are no teams with such vacancies at this time, however that puts us in a bit of a bind. In order to keep a very talented student in the program, regardless of location, I would like to propose a switch - Mr. Roke will go to Haven to continue his studies while the other student comes here to join the ranks of Beacon." He paused to take another drink. "I would need your permission first, however, before putting in a request for the transfer."

Farris responded immediately. "Absolutely. When can I leave?"

"I appreciate your… enthusiasm, Mr. Roke. What about the rest of you?"

Yatsuhashi and Fox both turned to Coco. "Could we have a moment to talk about it?" she asked.

"I already made my decision; I'm going to go pack." Farris stood up and headed out with a final sneer.

Coco watched him go, making no move to stop him - none of them did.

If had been anyone but Ozpin, Coco would have described the look he gave them as one of pity. On him though, it felt paternal. "It looks to me like you don't need to talk about it."

Ozpin was right - they had already made their decision. In reality, they didn't need the moment to talk it over, they were all just so tired of the stress and tension Farris's presence caused.

But Coco wanted to make sure they weren't making a mistake. "They're not worse - they'll be better, right? It'll work out better than with Farris?"

"I wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't think all eight of you would be happier with this move." Ozpin pulled out his scroll, bringing up the student's file. "I think Miss Scarlatina will be a fine addition to your team."

Both Yatsu and Fox were nodding. "We'll do it," Coco said.

"Perfect. There are a few procedural details to go over, but I should only need you, Miss Adel, for those."

Her teammates patted her shoulder as they left, no doubt going straight to Farris to tell him the good news - and help him pack.

"Provided there are no further complications, Miss Scarlatina will be on the first airship from Haven tomorrow. Mr. Roke will be leaving tomorrow morning regardless."

She frowned slightly. If Farris was leaving tomorrow morning, what could cause their new teammate's delay? She didn't pursue the thought though - Ozpin wouldn't give her a straight answer even if she had asked. "What's her name?" Coco asked instead.

"Velvet Scarlatina. You'll become team C-F-V-Y, it should be fairly easy to update the records." He paused to tap out a message on his scroll. "Haven students don't take history class until their second year. It's now three months into the semester, so I think it's too much to ask her to try and catch up with that as well as everything else, so she'll take that class next year."

Coco drummed her fingers on the desk. "Can we be excused from Friday's classes if she comes tomorrow? It would be nice to have a short break to get to know one another."

"Who do you have?" he asked, a smile crossing his face briefly.

"Oobleck - history - and Port. They're both already set up to record for Fox, so we wouldn't even have to get notes from a classmate."

"I didn't expect you to be so eager to get out of classes," he said.

Coco paled, missing the teasing glint in his eyes. "I'll definitely want to use some of that time to spar - we've got a lot of catching up to do as a team, I know." She didn't want to just play hooky, she _did_ want to use the time productively too. Ozpin had to be disappointed - she couldn't keep her team together, and now she was trying to skip classes.

He waved off her words. "I'll talk to your professors and have you excused from class. Please do take it easy this weekend though - Miss Scarlatina has been through quite a lot and may not be up to spar just yet." He stood and Coco followed suit. "I do appreciate the effort you've put into leading your team, Miss Adel. I'm sorry that it didn't work out. I'll send you Miss Scarlatina's contact info when we know more."

"Thank you, Headmaster." She turned and started towards the elevators, adding under her breath, "I won't let you down again."

* * *

Velvet couldn't really sit up comfortably, but she did her best when Professor Lionheart walked into the room. "I just got off a call with the headmaster at Beacon. He was able to create an opening for you on a team that wasn't working well. I'll gather your things from your dorm and locker and bring it all here. Once the doctor releases you, you'll be able to head straight to Beacon."

Velvet's eyes went wide. "Really?" she squeaked out. "I didn't think there was - I thought I'd - I thought I'd have to just… try again next year."

"No. Ozpin reassures me that team CFVY will work out much better for you. I'll get you their contact information." Professor Lionheart's lips pressed into a thin line. "I want to apologize. I never meant to let it get this bad."

Even lying in the infirmary recovering from the worst wound she had ever received, Velvet couldn't blame him, even if it didn't quite feel like a proper apology. "It's not your fault. You were doing your best." The reasoning felt flat, even to her, and she only offered a wan smile before the headmaster left.

She clutched the piece of paper Lionheart had left behind with her teammates' contact information. Was it reasonable to expect that her new teammates would be any better than her current ones? She knew very little about them, and what she did know terrified her.

The names Fox Alistair and Yatsuhashi Daichi meant nothing to her, but Coco Adel was the leader. As an Adel, she was undeniably human - their lineage could be traced back centuries without any gaps, and every single one of them was human. While Velvet was unwilling to assume Coco was racist, her family certainly was.

She tried to comfort herself with the knowledge that the Adels weren't as bad as the Schnees on a grand scale, but really, for one person, does it matter if their home is destroyed in a forest fire or a localized house fire? She tried to tell herself it certainly couldn't be _worse_ than her current situation, but maybe it would just be better if she continued her studies next year.

She was released from the infirmary that afternoon, but was allowed to stay the night rather than forcing her to return to the dorms. In the morning she left as soon as she could, haphazardly gathering up her limited luggage and stumbling out to the airship dock. It was then that her scroll went off with a message - or ten, if the incessant buzzing was anything to go by.

Shifting a bag to free up one hand, she pulled it out to take a look. There were only three - it buzzed again, making it four - two texts and two voice messages.

She went for the texts first, not opening the picture attached to the first one.

 **Coco Adel:** _Hi Velvet! Just added you to our newly formed team chat, come on over and say hi whenever. (Do please use voice messages - it's easier for Fox.) I've attached a photo here - Fox is the redhead to my right, and my partner. Yatsuhashi (Yatsu) is seated in front. Let us know if there's anything you need! We can't wait to meet you._

 **Coco Adel:** _dammit, Fox always manages to blink_

The photo in question caused Velvet's anxiety to spike. Her partner's shoulders were as broad as Coco and Fox put together and they were all undeniably human. (True to Coco's second message, Fox's eyes were closed, but they were all smiling broadly for the camera.)

Her hands were trembling so badly she barely managed to keep her grip on the device as she thumbed over to the group chat to listen to the voice messages.

"Hey, it's Fox. It's great to have you on the team - we're excited to meet you. We even cleaned the dorm and everything!" There was a barely-audible protest in the background of the recording. "Don't mind him. We'll see you soon!"

"It's Yatsu. Ignore him - the dorm room is always clean." A brief hiss of static accompanied his sigh. "I'm sure you're sick of hearing this, but I am looking forward to meeting you as well. Yatsu out."

The banter between the two of them was easy and light-hearted, she could hear laughter in the background of both. She stared down at her scroll, wondering how she'd be able to fit in. They clearly already got along great - what right did she have to intrude? Did they miss their teammate? Would they resent her for pushing her way into their lives?

Another text came through, interrupting her train of thought.

 **Yatsuhashi Daichi:** _Ozpin didn't tell us anything about you beyond that you'd been granted an emergency transfer. Please, let me know if there's anything I can do to make this transition easier and make you feel at home here._

She bit her bottom lip. She wanted to believe them - she wanted to believe that she would be welcome more than anything in the world. She wanted this to work - but she didn't believe it would. Lionheart was pleasant and did his best, but he didn't understand the issue. Not really. Did Lionheart even think to ask about a team with another faunus? Did he ask about how they treated their faunus classmates - or think to ask their faunus classmates what they thought of her new team?

She _did_ want to try and make a good first impression though - no sense in aggravating her new team before they'd even met.

Going back to the group chat, she hit the microphone button on her scroll. "Hey, it's Velvet," she started, then choked on her words. It was much harder to try and voice her thoughts than it would be to simply type them up. Her heart pounded in her ears as the silence dragged on. "I'm about to get on the airship. I'll talk to you when I get to Vale; I should be at the school around 4!" she finished too quickly, hitting send before she could rethink it or spend twenty minutes trying to record the perfect message.

She tried to send another when she touched down in Vale and cleared customs faster than she expected and caught an earlier ship to the school, but her scroll's connection wasn't strong enough to get the message out. Cursing to herself she tried not to worry about it. Better early than late.

* * *

When all three of their scrolls went off simultaneously about ten minutes after their barrage of messages, there was no doubt it was Velvet responding to the group chat.

None of them reached for where their scrolls were scattered haphazardly on the bed between them, though.

"You explained it to her?" Fox asked, tilting his head towards Coco.

She shook her head, not out of the habit despite having known Fox for years. "It - I just said to use voice messages. I didn't say why."

I didn't want to give her reason to hate you before she'd met you, she thought, reaching for her scroll and exchanging a glance with Yatsu. Part of her knew that this message didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. It was just one request without an explanation that could have been missed in a rush of packing or moving.

At the same time, it _was_ important in the long run, and Coco felt directly responsible for the way things turned out. She had only been a part of the unanimous decision to bring Velvet onto their team, however she had gone to Ozpin on her own to seek advice, which is why he'd offered the switch to them in the first place.

So she reached for her scroll, her hand trembling as she unlocked it and pulled up the group chat - a familiar gesture she could practically do in her sleep at this point.

The other two laughed in relief as Velvet's voice filled their dorm room for the first time. Yatsuhashi reached across the bed to ruffle Fox's hair.

* * *

He ran his finger along the first sentence of the passage from his grimm studies textbook for the third time, still not retaining any of the information. Snapping it shut with a sigh, he broke the uneasy silence that had settled in when they'd arrived in the dorm after Port's class. "How much longer until she gets here?"

Coco shifted her weight and pulled out her scroll - the same sound that had distracted him not two minutes prior. "An hour. We could leave here in about thirty minutes and not get to the docks _that_ early..."

It was a lie - it wasn't even a ten minute walk to the docks from their dorm, but they wanted to make a good first impression. It would be better to be early, though.

The familiar sound of the lock disengaging had him distracted from Coco's nervous rambling. Neither of his teammates noticed until the newcomer was fully in the room, stuttering out a quiet "h-hi."

"Pretty sure that wasn't an hour," Fox said dryly. She had to be Velvet - her voice was unmistakable. Her aura spiked as if preparing for battle when Coco scrambled to her feet, rambling about the docks and a miscommunication and trying to take Velvet's bag. He could feel the fear rolling off Velvet's aura in waves. "Coco," he interrupted. "Come here, leave the bag."

They'd worked together long enough that Coco didn't hesitate to do as Fox had said. His heart broke when the silence allowed him to hear Velvet's quiet apology she was repeating like a chant. "I tried to let you know - I got through customs faster than I thought and caught an earlier ship, but my scroll wouldn't connect."

"It's fine," Yatsuhashi said.

The deep rumble of his voice caused her aura to spike again. Fox tilted his head as he studied it - there was something more going on with it than just reacting to perceived threats, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. "We were just going to meet you at the docks," Fox offered. He stood and gave Coco's shoulder a quick squeeze - _let me handle this_. "Can I help with anything?" Of the three of him, he was the least overtly threatening. Yatsu was physically imposing while Coco just carried herself in a way that demanded respect from everyone nearby.

"I've got it, thanks." She peeled herself off the door, gathering her luggage around her. Her voice was still trembling a little, but she seemed more sure of herself. "I'm assuming this one's mine?" Fox turned back to Coco who confirmed she was gesturing to the right bed. "I'm sorry, I just - I'd requested a team with at least one other faunus and I knew I couldn't be picky but..."

 _Oh._

He froze, trying to process it. No wonder Ozpin had been so cagey about Velvet when they were talking about changing the teams. If Farris was going to fit in with her old team, Fox could only imagine what they were like - no wonder she'd been granted a transfer.

"It'll just take some getting used to is all!" she hastened to reassure them. "That - that's not a problem, is it Fox?" Her voice grew small and timid again. "You look like someone just slapped you." She forced a laugh. "Don't tell me you missed the rabbit ears."

No wonder she was jumpy - Coco was an Adel, after all. He offered some sort of reassurance as he tried to figure out what was happening with her aura. "I did, actually," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm blind." He brushed his hair back to make sure his pure white eyes were visible. The silent _I'm different, too_ hung between them.

"...the voice messages," she managed. It was muffled, like she had covered her face with her hands.

"Yup. Just keep the walking paths clear, yeah?" He reached out until he found her wrists - up by her face, just like he suspected - and gently pulled them away from her when she didn't back away. "We both have a lot to learn." If he didn't know better it was like her aura was fighting to heal something. But it wasn't just in one spot, it was _everywhere_.

"Let me know if there's anything else I can do to help," she offered quietly. "I don't want to make life more difficult for you."

"Same - we're a team now."

He stiffened when she closed the distance between them suddenly and hugged him, but quickly relaxed, returning the embrace. She felt a lot like Coco - radiating the same warmth and care that his partner did.

Velvet's aura was easier to study up close, but now that he'd had the thought about injuries he couldn't quite get it out of his head. He rubbed her back, hand pausing when he found bandages. They were too low to be used as binding material, so they were likely for an _injury_. If he focused, he could just make out how the flares of aura weren't actually one large pulse, but a multitude of smaller ones - bruises and cuts.

The smaller ones were just drowned out by the big one - no doubt whatever was bandaged.

He wanted to ask - he wanted to push, to know who had hurt her - but he let her go when she pulled away to finish unpacking. She'd tell them in her own time, or not, and that was okay.

* * *

The rest of the day was spent relaxing. The four of them grabbed dinner together - and even managed to make Velvet laugh when Coco told the story of the time she accidentally destroyed a desk when she kicked her purse under it and activated the gun.

Velvet had become a little cagey again when the discussion turned to weapons and semblances, but overall Yatsuhashi counted it as a win.

When they turned in for the night, he was able to fall asleep almost immediately, finally able to relax without his old partner around.

It felt like only a couple of minutes later when a hand on his shoulder dragged him out of his deep sleep. Yatsu knew there was something very wrong when he opened his eyes to find Coco dominating his field of vision. For one, she rarely woke him up, especially on days they could sleep in. For another, she was still in her pajamas - she hadn't even put her sunglasses on yet.

"Coco?" he asked, keeping his voice down in case the others were sleeping. "Is everything okay?"

"No."

The harsh word had him sitting up and looking around the room for threats. He had never heard his leader take that tone before - not even when she found out that Farris had abandoned his post in Forever Fall, very nearly getting two people killed. Despite the anger etched into Coco's posture and voice, there didn't appear to be any danger nearby. Fox was pacing by the foot of the beds, just wearing his sleep pants. Velvet was still fast asleep, curled up in a tight ball.

"Fox, tell Yatsuhashi what you told me." Her hands clenched into tight fists.

Fox stopped his pacing and ran his fingers through his hair. "Velvet's injured." His voice was as tight as Coco's. "And I don't mean in the 'I'm a huntress in training' way but in the 'I just spent several days in the infirmary in and out of consciousness' way. She's so covered in bruises and injuries her _whole_ aura is lit up trying to heal them." Fox wasn't angry - _worried_ maybe, but not angry.

"'At least he isn't trying to kill any of us,'" Yatsu murmured, repeating Fox's words from only a few days before. It had been almost flippant at the time, voicing how it could be worse. He looked over at his new partner, smiling a little when her nose twitched in her sleep. "I guess that's why she needed a new team?"

Coco whirled to look at him again, fists clenched at her sides, and hissed "If I _ever_ get my hands on them…"

He hadn't known what extraordinary circumstances were in play when Ozpin said Velvet needed a transfer. It clearly was going to be _bad_ , but from what Fox was saying she had barely _survived_. "Didn't Ozpin say Farris was joining that team?" She nodded. "I would hope that they would expel them if they'd attacked her."

Coco sighed. "I somehow doubt it. I'm going to go finish getting ready and then I need caffeine." She finger-combed her hair, trying to tame some of the bed head. "Not awake enough for this," she muttered, disappearing into the bathroom.

Yatsuhashi looked at Fox, trying to read his expression. "How are you doing?"

"Velvet's better for us…" he started, then stopped, rubbing his eyes. "But she's so scared. I'm not convinced we're good for _her_."

"As long as we don't try to kill her, I think we're doing pretty well when compared to her former teammates," he pointed out. "Not that their behavior is difficult to improve upon. Maybe we won't be _good_ for her, but we'll be _better_. It's not even been a full day, she hasn't had time to warm up to us. We'll do _our_ best, and that's what matters."

* * *

When the first twenty-four hours passed without a single insult hurled her way by her team, Velvet started to relax. Even though they were all human, they actually seemed to want her around - never failing to invite her to join them for meals. She felt like she belonged, more than she ever had at Haven.

As much as she didn't want to dispel the illusion, Velvet worried about her weapon and semblance. She had been mocked and harassed plenty of times by humans and faunus alike for the unusual combination - accusations of stealing weapon designs and of leeching off others' hard work.

Despite her wound, Velvet wanted to know how her team would react to her fighting style before she was lulled into a false sense of security by their kindness. Spurred forward by determination - she wouldn't let it get as bad as it had at Haven - she balked when Coco suggested they just take it easy over the weekend and not do any training, begging to spar together at least once.

Velvet tried not to wilt under Coco's intense look. "Ozpin suggested we take it easy this weekend, and we've got class with Goodwitch on Tuesday. We can always just wait until then."

She didn't want the first time to be in front of people - she wanted _privacy_ so that she would know how they would react. Velvet wasn't going to pull out her weapon in the middle of class in any case, but certainly not for the first time around her teammates. "I'm fine! I really would rather spar with just you three first." It came out more frantic than she had intended.

Coco's face was impossible to read, and Velvet froze, worried she'd crossed a line,pushing back against her leader's decision. Coco relented though, sighing and pulling out her scroll to reserve a training room. "We're going to take it _easy_ though - we're not going for aura drain, just show off what we can do. I'm calling a stop to it all if anyone's aura drops below _half_ , understood?" They all nodded. "Good. Let's go grab our weapons - not a lot of competition for slots today."

Velvet lagged behind, wondering if she should tell Coco her aura was compromised because she was still healing. She spared a glance at her scroll - she was barely at _sixty_ percent.

It could be intentional. As leader, Coco _would_ know her aura levels - it could simply be that she didn't want Velvet to get hurt.

There weren't any snarky comments, or even raised eyebrows, when Velvet fetched her small box out of her locker, just Coco ensuring that she had everything she needed.

It wasn't a complete lie when she said she did - she could get photos while Coco and Yatsu sparred - so there was no need to request them outright.

She _was_ grateful to be partnered with Fox for the practice matches. Part of her hated herself for thinking it, but the truth was he wouldn't be able to see her take photos and get upset. The element of surprise would also give her a leg up.

Fox's weapons would be hardest - not being able to get a sense of his fighting style first, but she could make it work. Reaching into the box, she took out her camera to take a couple of photos of his first, then focused on Yatsuhashi and Coco where they circled one another, seeking openings for attack.

As she got a good angle on Yatsu's sword, Fox asked, "Is someone else here?"

She lowered her camera to look around the training room. "I don't see anyone else here," she replied, then quickly got another shot of the giant blade. She couldn't wait to try it out.

"I could have sworn I heard a camera shutter."

She drew the camera in close to her chest, knuckles turning white with how tightly she clutched it. "Yes!" It came out as a tiny squeak - she couldn't let him have it - she couldn't afford to replace it _again_. "I - yes, I'm taking photos. Of your weapons." She winced. "I'm not trying to reverse-engineer the designs or steal trade secrets or anything..." Her injury ached as she curled up on herself slightly, trying to shield her weapon with her body and not draw the attention of their teammates.

"Velvs," he interrupted, putting a hand on her shoulder. "It's fine. I was just making sure no one had wandered in, since Coco hadn't wanted any spectators." He leaned in to add in a whisper, "If you get Coco's bad side, she's going to be upset."

She managed to laugh a little at that. "Pretty sure she doesn't have a bad side," she said, putting the camera back in her box so she could study the way the other two moved.

He hummed in agreement at her assessment. "Didn't mean to make you stop," he added when he realized she wasn't taking photos anymore.

"I got what I needed." She leaned forward to watch how Coco used her gatling gun. There was no need to stock up on photos - not until she knew how they'd react.

Coco had barely folded her purse back up to strike at Yatsuhashi when he used his sword to pull her feet out from underneath her, toppling her onto her back. She cursed and tried to get back up, but his weapon was at her throat before she could, claiming victory. "Bravo!" Velvet called, ignoring the growing knot in her stomach.

"I'll get you eventually," Coco teased Yatsuhashi as he helped her to her feet. "Fox, Velvet, you're up!" She clasped Velvet's shoulder as they passed one another. "Don't go easy on him."

"Wasn't planning on it," she said, taking position.

She appreciated that none of them were _voicing_ concerns. She knew she looked ridiculous with only her box on her back, but they trusted that she could handle herself.

Though - she looked at Coco's purse that fashionably concealed her weapon - she was probably just self-conscious about it.

"Begin!"

Velvet spared a last glance at Coco before activating her weapon and semblance, constructing a blue wireframe of Coco's gatling gun. Her semblance came next, shifting her stance as the weapon spun up.

She heard a gasp from the stands when the hard-light copy of Coco's weapon appeared. Fox stumbled at the sound of mechanical whirring - the exact reason she'd reached for it first.

"No fair, partner! Give a man warning before you loan out your weapon," he said with a laugh as he found his feet again and closed the distance.

Coco's denial - interspersed with laughter - had Velvet smiling, too. She figured Fox would know how to handle Coco's weapon, but the moment of confusion had worked in her favor.

She dropped the weapon as he approached, calling up Yatsuhashi's sword instead. Fox stopped dead in his tracks - she wondered briefly how it felt to his semblance - and ducked just in time to avoid a blow to his shoulder.

He stepped in closer, getting a couple of good strikes in as she switched weapons one last time, pulling out Fox's own weapons against him.

This time he didn't have an easy defense - getting stuck when she entangled their blades together and flipped him onto his back, tumbling forward herself to pin him there until he held up his hands in surrender. She moved off to one side, dropping the weapons and her semblance, feeling the exhaustion seep into her muscles.

It was difficult to do three unfamiliar weapons in rapid succession like that. It felt good though - the plan had worked, and Coco and Yatsuhashi were applauding them.

Her partner moved into her field of vision, offering her a hand up. "That was _incredible_! How do you do it?"

His hand was huge - engulfing hers completely - but his touch was gentle as he helped her to her feet.

"The pictures, right?" Fox asked, letting Coco help him up as well. "What _was_ that?"

"Holographic projector - I can take photos of your weapons and then recreate a hard-light copy for my own use." She took a steadying breath and studied their faces. They didn't look upset. The last of the tension she'd been holding eased out of her body. "My semblance allows me to mimic your fighting style. I used the photos I have - I'd have to take more to use it again."

"Do they expire after a certain amount of time?" Coco asked.

Velvet shook her head. "The photos are single-use, and a photo of your closed handbag wouldn't let me fold it out into a gatling gun. However, as long as the camera isn't damaged, the photos will last on there forever."

She jumped when Coco unfolded her weapon and held it out. "Take more photos, please! What else do you have on there? Anything we can prepare for?"

Her face felt hot as she dug out her camera and hid behind it to get more photos of her team's weapons. "No - I'd burned through what little I had at Haven."

"We'll find you more, don't worry. And you can work with us so you don't have to rely so heavily on your semblance to fight with them." Yatsuhashi placed a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe find some teams who would be willing to lend their weapons and knowledge."

Velvet shook her head vehemently at that, wrapping her arms around her stomach. "I don't - please don't make me tell anyone. The students at Haven weren't…" she struggled for the right word for a moment before settling on "...kind."

"Professors are okay, though?" Coco checked and she nodded. "I'll ask around, quietly, but in the meantime make sure you've always got ours on hand."

"Want to go again?" she asked, smiling brightly.

Coco pulled out her scroll and checked it. "Nope, we're done here. Let's go get lunch." She tilted the screen just far enough to let Velvet see that she had fallen below the threshold Coco had set earlier.

She was a little disappointed, but went with them back to the locker rooms feeling truly hopeful for the future for the first time in months as the weight of her old team and what had happened at Haven lifted from her shoulders.

Her four years at Beacon were going to be great.


	3. Chapter 3

Coco wouldn't ever admit it, but she was nervous. The mission at the end of the first year wasn't supposed to be a team's first time out in the field together and yet that's what team CFVY was facing. They had trained hard and gotten to know one another's fighting styles well, even developing a few strategies that would _theoretically_ work well against larger groups of grimm.

The _theory_ part of that was what had Coco's stomach in knots as they packed their gear and made their way to the auditorium where they would choose a mission to shadow a hunter on.

After Ozpin's brief speech, they wandered over to one of the large displays to study the options available to them.

Beyond her worries about going out into the field for the first time together, she didn't want to be paired with someone who would think less of Fox and Velvet. Coco frowned when she saw that there weren't any names listed next to the missions - just a location and a brief summary of what would be expected of them. For their first mission, Coco wanted to take her team somewhere _safe_.

She had to laugh at herself a little for the description. Hunting grimm was hands down the single most dangerous profession on Remnant - by any definition they weren't going to be _safe_. But there was a world of difference between taking them out on a hunt against monsters they could defend themselves against and taking them somewhere they couldn't trust the people around them.

It was more than just finding a location that was known for being accepting - she could see several locations down on the southern coast where immigrants from Menagerie were more likely to live - it was also making sure they were paired with a hunter who was open minded.

"Having troubles deciding?"

Ozpin's voice behind her made her jump. "Just looking over the options," she said, glancing over at her team. They were laughing as Velvet did a dramatic reading of one of the mission descriptions for Fox. Watching them laugh gave her the resolve she needed to swallow her pride and voice her concerns. "Headmaster - I know we're supposed to be open to working with all types of people. But this will be our first mission out as a team and I don't want to have to follow a huntsman who isn't going to respect Fox and Velvet."

She wished Ozpin's face was easier to read, but he had a perfect poker face. Despite her earlier concerns about disappointing him, Coco didn't care about what he thought. She wasn't going to take Velvet and Fox into a situation where they couldn't trust the hunter they were partnered with - especially after everything that Velvet went through at Haven. If Ozpin thought less of her for it, that was on him.

"Miss Adel, I understand your concern and would like to assure you that none of the huntsmen I've partnered with for this exercise would be anything but professional and kind to your team."

"Thank you, Ozpin." She couldn't keep the relief out of her voice.

He smiled. "Do they even know you're asking?" She shook her head. "I just got off the phone with the headmaster at Haven - I was calling to check on Farris, and he asked about Velvet. I was very pleased to be able to tell him that team CFVY is coming together well and is quickly becoming one of the best teams here at Beacon." Coco flushed at the high praise. "You should be proud of what you're doing with them, Coco. What you build here will outlast any other legacy you think you carry."

Her name sounded like a gunshot in her ears. She hadn't really registered him using _Coco_ rather than her full name during the naming ceremony but to hear it now - it bolstered her resolve. She _could_ build herself a legacy that was one of her own choosing - completely separate of her last name.

With a renewed boost of confidence, she walked back over to her teammates. "Found anything interesting?"

"We were looking at this one - a hunter is looking for backup removing a nest that's threatening a village on the coast. There's also an increase of creep activity they want help tracking down." Velvet pointed to the relevant entry on the screen. The town was on the southern end of the continent, near one of the big ports that had daily ships to Menagerie - it would be a relatively safe area for Velvet. "We'd leave as soon as possible."

"Sounds like fun," Coco said, selecting it when the rest of her team nodded in agreement.

Yatsuhashi grabbed her arm as they walked towards the awaiting airship, waiting until they were out of earshot of their partners to speak. "I know the area is safe, and this is probably too little too late, but do you know who we'll be shadowing?" He looked to Velvet and then back to Coco, leaving no doubt in her mind what exactly he was asking.

She shook her head. "I spoke to Ozpin, though. He said we shouldn't run into any issues, no matter who we decided to shadow." Coco smiled up at him. "I'm not going to take my team somewhere unsafe."

"Just to the grimm-infested coast?" His smile was bright and teasing as they started walking towards the ship again.

Her smile matched his - it _was_ a ridiculous assertion. "Hey now, grimm we can handle."

* * *

The ride to the town was short, barely giving them enough time to get used to the noise before the pilot was circling to set down on the outskirts, confirming pickup in a week unless she heard otherwise. A week was average for a first-year mission - and many teams were just shadowing for a week, regardless of how long the mission actually went.

The hunter they were shadowing barely came up to Velvet's nose. "I'm Olive. Just Olive. I'm in charge of keeping you four alive for the next week or so."

Olive's leather outfit served as basic armor that was uncommon for huntsmen, and she had a crossbow strapped across her back. "Ozpin reassured me that you're the best first year team he has so that shouldn't be too difficult."

They made their way to Olive's cabin - not going into the main part of town. "I live here. Generally, I handle the grimm in the area on my own, but I try to help out Ozpin when I can, which typically means trying to find something for first year students to do once a year. I _don't_ like having tagalongs for a week when there's nothing for them to do and then send them home having done nothing but get underfoot."

Her brusque tone had Coco standing a little straighter. It drove home the fact they weren't just running simulations or exercises with her team but actually out in the field, working to become the hunters they wanted to be. She wasn't being rude, simply straightforward.

She gestured to one of the closed doors off of the main room. "Bathroom. Door to the left is the room you four will be staying in tonight. We'll be camping out starting tomorrow night, so don't get too comfortable. Door to the right is mine - don't go in there." She gestured to the big table in the middle of the living room. "Here, let's take a look at this."

The five of them gathered around the table. On it was an incredibly detailed map of the area, with notes of varying ages denoting recent additions and buildings.

Olive pointed to two figures she'd added to the north end of the map. "I know the mission outline said only one nest in addition to finding the source of the increased creep activity, but I had a second nest crop up yesterday - this one's ursa. The big one is an established beowolf nest that's big enough it should split soon. Especially with the new ursa pack I'm worried they'll tear right through town." She pointed out where her cabin was. "All right. What would you do?" she asked, looking up at Coco.

Coco leaned over the table, studying the positions of the nests and the surrounding areas, studying possible approaches. She tuned out Yatsuhashi's description of the area for Fox, focusing on the positioning of the nests. Driving them deeper into the forest and into a clearing would work better than trying to fight them at their home. A two-pronged attack could also work, but it would take more precise timing.

Velvet piped up first though, surprisingly eager to share her thoughts. "If we came at this larger nest from this direction - head east towards it - then oh, say, two of us swing around to the other side to come in from the west, those two could drive the pack into the other three."

Coco grinned at Velvet's enthusiasm - even if she didn't agree with the plan, she was happy to see her come out of her shell a little bit.

"How close is the second nest?" Fox asked. "We don't want to try and take them on both at once."

"It's about a mile to the north," Yatsuhashi filled in. "As long as we keep them moving east to west we should be able to keep them out of town and away from the second nest, though I suspect that we would be able to take on both if it came down to it."

"I was asking your _leader_ ," Olive remarked dryly.

Coco was about to chime in her opinion when Velvet's reaction to Olive's comment caught her eye. Her teammate had cringed back, ears drooping. The gentle critique of the plan she had been about to offer up died in her throat. _No one_ got to make Velvet feel like her contributions weren't welcome.

"The plan is a solid one. It keeps the grimm out of town, addresses the threats in the order of difficulty and Yatsu's right - we could take on both if we had to." She crossed her arms over her chest, silently daring Olive to disagree.

Olive's eyes narrowed like she had figured out what Coco was up to. "I'm not sure we could get around the pack undetected effectively, and if we alert them early it could drive them into the town."

Coco was undeterred. "So we'll split and one group will circle around, effectively mimicking the ability to dart around the group in that space of time; we'd do a two-pronged attack timed to hit at the same time." She traced the route each group would take with her fingers. The plan relied on a degree of finesse that wasn't her usual style - she _did_ favor a gatling gun after all - but she had complete faith in the group of hunters that stood before her.

Just because it wasn't her first choice didn't mean it wasn't tactically sound. Keeping the grimm contained and away from the village was priority, no matter _how_ it was carried out. And if this tactic meant that Velvet was less shy, Coco was even more supportive of it.

"That might work better, but scroll reception is really spotty. Why don't we try driving them into a more open area - it'll be much easier to fight them that way."

As she moved around the table to see what Olive was proposing, she glanced at Velvet, who wasn't trying so hard to disappear into the floor. Coco counted it as a win.

* * *

In the end, they decided to go with Olive's plan. Velvet was grateful that Coco had spoken up - though a little embarrassed she had interjected with her plan when Olive had clearly been seeking her leader's opinion.

But no one had chastised her for speaking out of turn. Coco _had_ clasped her shoulder and reassured her that her idea was a good one once they finalized the plan, but other than that no one had mentioned the slip-up.

Feeling brave, Velvet approached Olive the next morning about getting a photo of her weapon.

She was certain that her team would back her up - it didn't matter what Olive said or thought. Coco, Yatsuhashi and Fox wanted her around - wanted her to contribute to the team as best she could. They wouldn't let Olive do anything.

It still took three tries to get the words out. "Olive? Ma'am?"

The huntress turned to look Velvet up and down. "It's just Olive."

With Yatsuhashi literally at her back getting ready to leave, Velvet felt bold. "Can I take a picture of your weapon?"

Olive didn't ask any questions or comment; she simply unstrapped it from her back and held it out for Velvet.

She scrambled to pull out her camera, thanking Olive as she took several photos.

"Velvet, why do you want to become a huntress?"

She paused halfway through putting her camera away. "To help people who can't protect themselves." She frowned. "Are there other reasons people become hunters?"

Yatsuhashi chimed in from behind her. "I did it because it was expected of me - I want to help people too, but I pursued becoming a huntsman over anything else because it was _expected_ of someone my size."

Velvet looked up at her partner. "You can do a lot of good as a huntsman, but if you don't want to be here - "

"I want to be here," he reassured her quickly. "No place I'd rather be, really." He ruffled her hair before making his way outside where Coco and Fox were waiting.

"Velvet…" Olive paused, considering her words with a tilt of her head. "Why did Ozpin make Coco leader?"

Her eyes darted around the room but there wasn't anyone there to help her with the answer. Was Olive asking out of idle curiosity or because she thought Velvet had overstepped her bounds?

"She's got a good head for strategy…"

"So do you."

Her no-nonsense tone was somehow reassuring. This was Olive being curious - if she had meant it any other way she would have said so in as many words. "I guess - Ozpin just felt like she was more qualified than me." She almost said she'd been brought onto the team later, that she hadn't been there or seen what led up to the decision, but decided against it. It'd raise too many questions she wasn't ready to answer.

"Huh," Olive said and then abruptly turned and left the room, signaling the end of the conversation.

* * *

After setting out, the five of them followed Olive's normal patrolling patterns to start - doing two loops around the village to ensure that the nests were the only grimm of note in the area before tackling the group of beowolves.

The fight itself was simple, and by most definitions it was a complete success - they had cleared out the larger nest of grimm with only minimal injuries.

Velvet couldn't look any of them in the eye though. "Minimal injuries" included a nasty slash to Fox's face caused by misstep on her part.

It had _looked_ a lot worse than it was - Velvet had moved in too close while armed with Professor Port's bladed blunderbuss and Fox had moved the wrong way, catching an axe blade with his face.

He'd always bled an absurd amount, so by the time Velvet had dropped the weapon and turned to see what had made Fox cry out he already had blood dripping down his face.

"I knew his - his _blunder-butt_ was a terrible idea," Velvet muttered as Yatsuhashi looked over Fox's wound. She'd expressed the concern - without the insult - when Coco had brought the professor to one of their sparring sessions for her to work with.

"I didn't realize you'd pulled a different weapon - I was expecting Coco's gun still," Fox admitted, wincing when it pulled at the scab.

Coco tried to reassure Velvet - it wasn't her fault. "Don't worry about it, Velvs. He's a bleeder - always has been." She took off her sunglasses, tapping them thoughtfully against her knee. "I'm concerned about the implications though - we were all thrown when you swapped to something unknown like that."

She flushed. "I'm sorry - I haven't tested it with a team extensively before. I'm still working out the kinks."

Fox's brow furrowed and he opened his mouth as if to ask a clarifying question but decided against it. Coco wanted to ask too - Velvet should have had plenty of opportunities to work with other people, even if it was still fairly new to the three of them. "We'll figure it out, Velvs. Hold off on using it tomorrow at least at first - this isn't the place for experimentation."

It was a bold move - asking Velvet to not use her weapon - but Coco knew she could handle herself. It wasn't a long-term solution by any means, but the field was not the place to attempt to figure out how they'd work together with Velvet's weapon without getting anyone hurt.

Velvet, thankfully, didn't look upset - if anything, she appeared to be relieved that they weren't angry at her over the accident.

When they discussed watch shifts, Coco volunteered to take the final watch shift of the night, since she struggled to fall back asleep if woken halfway through. It made more sense to leave the darkest hours to Fox and Velvet regardless of preferences.

Sleep came more easily than she expected. Having a team she could trust at her back meant it felt like she had just closed her eyes when Olive was waking her up for her watch.

Rather than trying to catch a few more hours of rest after rousing Coco, Olive went about tearing down camp and starting a pot of coffee on the banked fire.

"Look, I ain't going to tell you how to run your team," Olive said as she passed Coco a cup of the coffee she'd brewed.

Coco took a sip of it, peering over her sunglasses at Olive.

"But a team can only have one leader. If you value their opinions that's fine, but remember in the end you have to make the call." Olive's lips curled up into something resembling a smile. "And it shouldn't be because you're irritated at someone for telling off one of your team members. Velvet's got a good head for strategy, I'll give her that. But you were made leader over her for a reason - and you have to be careful. You'll have to learn how to best use her talents - better than what I saw out there yesterday - or you're going to get someone killed. Just having her not use her weapon isn't a solution either."

"Did Ozpin tell you the story of team CFVY?" she asked, though she suspected the answer was no.

Olive shook her head.

Coco swirled the coffee around in her mug, contemplating how to phrase it. "This is our first mission out as a team - we had a bit of an unusual start. We're still figuring out how each of us work, much less work _together_." She downed the last of the coffee. "We had a rough first couple of months - especially Velvs. We'll figure it out in time."

"If I hadn't interrupted the planning - what would you have said?"

Coco shrugged. "Something like what you'd suggested. Velvet's plan would have worked, but I preferred yours."

"Validating her plan was more important to you?"

"Validating _her_ was more important to me," Coco corrected. "The plan was a good one."

Olive gave her a long considering look. "It was," she conceded. "You've got a good team - I can see why Ozpin likes you. But I have to ask - why did he make you leader?"

Most of her classmates would have said "because she's an Adel" and left it at that. Some days she believed them, but Ozpin's parting words had resonated with her and so she had a different answer now. "Because he thought I could lead team C-F-F-Y. He was wrong. I don't think anyone could lead that team."

Olive raised an eyebrow at the spelling. "What about team C-F- _V_ -Y?"

She looked over to her sleeping teammates. "I think I can manage C-F-V-Y."


	4. Chapter 4

For a first mission, it'd had gone about as well as could be expected. Despite the rough start, by the final day they'd been able to come together to tackle the creep problem and ursa nest with no further issues - and they'd been able to use techniques they had developed in training to devastating effect.

But, while they had managed to figure out how to work together on the battlefield, there was still a lot that was left unsaid and unresolved in their personal lives. It was understandable, considering what they'd been through, however it was frustrating that they still didn't feel like a _team_ \- they were more like a group of strangers who happened to fight well together.

With the end of the school year approaching, they didn't have any more away missions to distract them, letting them focus on building trust and working out team dynamics.

Yatsuhashi, in particular, was looking forward to seeing how the four of them got along without the stress of missions. With the rocky start to the year, he hadn't been entirely sure he'd wanted to continue his studies. Farris had been a near-constant drain on him - for reasons he had difficulty articulating.

It hadn't helped that he'd been on the fence about coming in the first place - his family had wanted him to become a huntsman, and when he hit puberty and grown to be seven feet tall (with a bench-press limit to match) it had simply become _expected_ of him. He hated admitting to it - because people always felt sorry for him. It wasn't their fault.

Of course, he had admitted to his own reluctance to come to Beacon by accident while out in the field. Thankfully only Velvet had heard, but she was clearly worried about him. The four of them may have figured out how to work together as a team on the battlefield, but they were still trying to figure out how they worked together as friends.

Velvet was determined to see them come together as a team - she could be as tenacious as Coco when she put her heart into it.

He usually admired that about her.

"Yatsu." Velvet had managed to find a spare moment in the midst of studying for their finals not long after they got back from their mission. "What you said back when we were on the mission - about becoming a huntsman."

He bit back a sigh. She'd had the foresight to ask when they were alone, at least. "I do want to be here, Velvs."

She waved off his statement. "I believe you. But if you ever wanted to talk about it, I'm here."

Velvet's words warmed him; he also wanted to be there for her if she ever needed it. "Thank you," he said, reaching out to hug her and smiling when she stepped right into his embrace. "If you ever needed to talk to someone - about anything, I'm here for you too."

That was the difficult part: after the rocky start, none of them were in the habit of talking to one another about more personal issues, and none of them knew where to _start_ , even as it became apparent there were things that needed to be voiced - both good and bad.

* * *

Regardless, they did their best to work together outside of combat, too. Coco had invited them all out for dinner - her treat - to celebrate their successful first mission. She hadn't specified where they were going - just to dress nice and that they'd hit up a club after dinner.

The promise of a fun evening out had the three of them distracted during Oobleck's class - their last class of the day, to the point where they were hardly paying any attention to his mile-a-minute lecture.

When the bell finally rang, they jumped up, haphazardly throwing their notebooks into their bags and rushing out the door - managing to beat even their professor.

"Did you two take _any_ notes?" Fox asked.

"Not really." Coco didn't even try to sound apologetic. "Yatsuhashi didn't either."

He couldn't deny it - he'd given up on concentrating about halfway through the lecture. "Perhaps we could borrow the recording from you? I couldn't focus."

"And what if I'd said no?" Fox gave him a playful shove. There was no question that he'd loan them the recording - his recorded lectures had become a boon for many late-night study sessions. "I wasn't paying that much attention, either." He bounced on the balls of his feet. "Let's find Velvet and head out?"

After the first week of classes, she had taken to waiting outside Oobleck's door for them, wanting to walk together to their next class or to the cafeteria for dinner. She was usually there before them, but not today.

They _had_ rushed out, getting there far earlier than usual, and so they lingered, waiting to see if she just hadn't arrived yet. The hallway filled with the classes that were just getting out, making it harder to see anyone approaching.

But as the crowd of their classmates thinned, it became apparent that Velvet wasn't there.

"I'll message her," Coco said, pulling out her scroll. "Did she say anything this morning about meeting us somewhere else?"

"Not to me," Yatsuhashi said, checking his own scroll for any messages.

Fox hadn't bothered to try and check his scroll - she would have messaged the group chat and it was simply easier for Coco or Yatsu to check that. Instead, he focused on his surroundings, trying to sense if she was coming towards them. He didn't feel anything with his aura, but something had caught his attention regardless. "Do you hear that?" As the crowds disappeared and they focused, Coco and Yatsuhashi could hear the same thing Fox did - the faint sound of a fight.

None of them hesitated when Coco took off down the hall, falling right into step behind her. Yatsuhashi tried not to think too hard about how this was the path back to their dorm room - it was the path back towards _most_ of the dorms, but it was something that was hard to ignore when his partner was missing.

He heard Velvet before she came into view - a pair of words that threatened to break his heart in two.

"Please stop."

He saw red when they rounded the corner: a team of third-years had cornered Velvet in an alcove. The other students who walked past were pointedly ignoring them - one of the bullies had grabbed Velvet's ear and was _pulling_.

The rest of team CFVY had never dared to touch her ears, and she had never offered. It had always seemed like an intimate act - even if Coco and Fox had occasionally gotten a faceful of fur when she'd given them an enthusiastic hug - which made the situation even more infuriating.

Velvet may have been unwilling to fight back, but her teammates had no such reservations.

The third-years weren't paying attention to their surroundings and so hadn't noticed Coco, Fox and Yatsuhashi's approach.

Coco grabbed the ringleader's wrist in a vice-like grip, fingers digging into his tendons as she twisted his arm. The move got him to release his grip on Velvet, who seemed to be unharmed by it, and he yelped when Coco stepped in closer, driving his elbow into his ribs, knocking the air from his lungs. A subtle shift of her feet gave her the leverage to push him off balance, and he found himself sprawled on the floor.

The rest of his teammates, who had frozen in surprise when Coco had interfered, shook themselves from their stupor to take off down the hallway, leaving him to scramble to his feet on his own before following - despite having two years of experience on team CFVY, the older students seemed unwilling to actually _fight_.

Yatsuhashi started to follow, taking a step towards their retreating figures - he could take them on his own easily since no one had their weapons - to teach them the error of their ways, but Velvet's hand on his wrist turned his attention towards her instead.

"Don't - please."

If her earlier words hadn't broken his heart, these certainly did. It was such a quiet plea for mercy - he couldn't go against her wishes, no matter how much he wanted to protect her from future harm. Rather than giving chase, he opened his arms to offer her a reassuring hug.

She stepped into his open arms, her whole body trembling. "Velvs, are you hurt?" He tried feeling her aura with his - he could sometimes pick up on aura levels if he focused, but he couldn't right then.

She sniffled. "Just my pride."

Coco held up her scroll where Yatsuhashi could see - barely a blip in her aura levels.

"Chasing them doesn't help," she said into his shirt. "It's okay."

"It's not," Coco protested. "I'll report them to Goodwitch - "

"No!" Velvet pulled away slightly to meet Coco's gaze. "It doesn't help. Nothing helps. It's best to just ignore them."

Coco looked like she wanted to protest again, but Fox grabbed her arm and dragged her a little farther down the hallway to talk her down.

Yatsuhashi started to stroke Velvet's hair as her trembling slowed. "We're not going to stand by and let that happen," he said, trying to rein in his own temper that was still threatening to boil over. He could resist going after them - tracking them down and hurting them the way they'd hurt her - but he would never be able to stand idle if he came across it. He wanted to protect her - to show her not every human was like that - but he wouldn't be able to do that if he didn't respect her wishes. "We won't do more than that if it's what you want, but we won't let bullies hurt you if we see it."

"That's fine," she managed, her voice thick. "I - " Her grip on his waist tightened. " _They_ used to join in when other teams would bully me." It was barely audible, half-mumbled against his chest.

There was no doubt in his mind who "they" were. He hoped that Velvet wouldn't ask him to hold back if he ever got his hands on her old teammates. He would happily kill them in a heartbeat for what they'd done to her.

Even though the admission was terrible, it helped calm Yatsuhashi's boiling temper. Velvet _trusted_ him with this bit of information. "We never will. We'll chase them away - and I'll talk Coco down if Fox hasn't already." He looked up at their teammates - Coco looked like she was about to punch a wall, which was certainly an improvement over punching the third-years, and as Fox continued to talk in hushed tones, she relaxed more. "We like you, Velvs."

He meant it innocently enough - they all liked her quite a bit - but her response of "I like you, too" made him want to kiss the patch of hair between her ears.

Maybe it wasn't as platonic as he'd intended.

* * *

The more he thought about it, the more the want to kiss Velvet confused him - mainly because he felt no different about his partner than he did about his other teammates.

But - maybe it wasn't that confusing. There was nothing that said he _couldn't_ be attracted to all three of his teammates.

Of course, that wasn't the reason Yatsu found himself staring up at the ceiling in the middle of the night. It wasn't that he couldn't get back to sleep - if he closed his eyes, he would drift off again almost instantly - but whenever he did, he ended up waking up again less than ten minutes later, unsure of what had roused him. Instead of trying to go back to sleep, he stood up and wandered into the bathroom to splash cold water on his face, letting the dim light from outside guide his steps.

On the way back he heard the source of his restless sleep - a tiny noise too pained to be a moan and just barely loud enough to be heard. He knelt next to Velvet's bed where he was able to make out where she was curled up in a tight ball in the center of the mattress, white-knuckling the comforter that was pulled around her.

"Velvet?" he whispered, but she just curled up tighter, body trembling. He sat back on his heels, trying to decide what to do - but another pained whimper made the decision for him. Hoping she'd be okay, he reached out and gently shook her shoulder. "Velvs, sweetheart, you're safe."

She woke with a start, throwing herself backwards against the wall, muffling her surprised yelp with her hand.

"Velvet," he whispered again, pulling his hand back and showing his empty palms. "You're safe. You were having a nightmare."

She looked at him, eyes wide, finally making eye contact. "Yatsu," she said, then all but launched herself out of the bed and into his arms, all the while trembling like a leaf. He caught her, wrapping his arms around her tightly.

"I've got you," he promised as he adjusted the way he sat so his back was against her bed. He could just barely make out the shadowy outline of where Fox was sitting up. "It's okay, we're okay, you're okay." This time he spoke up just a little in hopes that Fox would hear the reassurances. After a moment his teammate laid back down, and he focused, instead, on the trembling faunus in his arms. She had a vice-like grip around his chest and her whole body would occasionally jerk with a hiccuped sob. He sat there with her, one arm around her waist and the other hand stroking her hair until her trembling slowed and her breathing became less labored, completely unaware of how much time was passing, but he didn't care either. He would have sat there until the sun came up if it helped.

When her breathing finally slipped back into sleep rhythms, he carefully got to his feet and tried to lay her back down in her own bed. But Velvet simply would not let go of him, somehow managing to hold him even tighter when he tried to coax her into releasing her grip. He _could_ wake her, but she was finally sleeping peacefully and he didn't want to disturb her at this point. So, instead, he settled back into his own bed and pulled a sheet over them as he tried to find a comfortable position to sleep in without crushing one of Velvet's arms.

* * *

"Are Velvet and Yatsu curled up in bed together?"

Velvet woke slowly, half-hearing Fox's first question and Coco's quiet confirmation.

"And you just took their picture?"

There was something in that question she should pay attention to, but at the moment she didn't care. She was safe here, and warm, and so she just shifted slightly, closer to the warmth. Coco's reply was equally quiet - something about not having her sound on - before the door clicked shut as they left. Sighing, she rolled over and wrapped herself around the warm body in her bed. There was a part of her brain that wanted to be alarmed, but they smelled like home, so she didn't worry too much, even when their arms settled around her.

"Are you awake?" The deep rumble in Yatsuhashi's chest had one of her rabbit ears twitching lazily as she nodded. "I couldn't get you to let go last night," he said in a rush to explain why they were entangled on a bed together.

"Want me to move?" she asked, voice slurring slightly from sleep. His arms tightened around her in response, and she just curled up closer, perfectly content to lay with him for the time being. "Mmkay."

She wanted to lay here for the rest of the day, pretending like they didn't have any responsibilities, but it simply wasn't practical.

"Should we start packing?" he murmured after a moment. They only had a couple more days and one final exam before they would have to go back home for the summer.

"I don't _want_ to go home," she protested, turning to hide her face in his shoulder. Pressed up against him as she was, she could hear his heart rate pick up and how feel he tightened his grip on her ever so slightly at her words.

"You know you have a home with us - I mean, Coco's probably not a _great_ choice, given her family, but any of us would happily put you up for the summer if you wanted."

She sat up slightly at his concerned tone. "It'd be nice - but my family is so worried - I haven't seen them since I left for _Haven_ and then when I told them about how my team was treating me and that my new team leader was Coco…" her voice trailed off for a moment before she shook her head. She hadn't told them _everything_ , but she'd said enough for them to be worried. "I have to go home and let them know I'm okay."

"If you don't want to…" he replied, clearly worried. "You don't have to."

She stared at him. "I mean, I definitely prefer Beacon and my friends - this _is_ what I want to do with my life, but my family is important to me, too." Velvet poked his chest as it came together - he was worried about her safety if she went home. "I love my family! They're wonderful!" she said, starting to giggle. "They're just going to fuss and make a scene about me coming back next year. They don't understand what's driving me to become a huntress." She laid back down on his chest. "It's sweet of you to worry, though."

"I just wanted to make sure you had a safe place to go home to," he murmured, reaching up to stroke her hair.

She let out a contented sigh. "It's sweet. Maybe we can do the 'meet-the-families' thing next summer." Even as she spoke, she realized how _intimate_ it sounded - especially curled up as she was on his chest.

"I've never been to Menagerie," he mused out loud, even as he thought how it would be nice to introduce Velvet to his parents as his _romantic_ partner and not just battle partner. "It'd be nice to see where my grandmother grew up."

The implications of his heritage didn't escape her - she hadn't known Yatsuhashi was part faunus, but it made sense to her. Maybe that's part of why she felt so comfortable around him.

But even as she agreed it would be wonderful to show him around the island and the communities, and listened to him talk about his grandmother, there was something missing from the equation.

She examined her emotions more closely - the easiest part was her attraction to Yatsuhashi. What wasn't so easy was the fact that it was indistinguishable from her feelings for Fox - and - more surprisingly - Coco.

It was something to take a closer look at later. For now, she was going to curl up next to Yatsuhashi and pretend like no one was leaving for home anytime soon.

* * *

Reality set in a few days later as the four of them made their way to the airship docks. All of their flights were leaving more or less at the same time and so they'd walked out together.

"Keep in touch you two - and try not to get into too much trouble," Coco advised with a grin.

"I can't promise I'll stay out of trouble, but I'll keep in touch," Yatsu said as he gave his two teammates a hug. "You do the same."

Fox laughed. "When have you _ever_ known us to stay out of trouble?"

They all laughed and said their final goodbyes with another round of hugs before the two pairs went their separate ways. Even though his ship was nearby, Yatsuhashi still walked with Velvet to her waiting ship.

He shouldn't have found it so cute that Velvet had to scramble onto a low wall to press a shy kiss to his cheek, but it was one of the more adorable things he'd seen her do. She quickly pulled away, cheeks just starting to turn red and he leaned in to return the gesture - missing slightly when she turned away and getting her lips instead.

She didn't pull away, just shifted to get a better angle.

It wasn't what he'd _intended_ but he certainly wasn't _complaining_ either. He cupped her cheek in his hand, relishing the moment together. It was too short of a time before she broke the kiss, mumbling about the airship leaving soon.

He gave her a parting kiss on the cheek. "Message me when you get home safely?"

"Of course," she said, then dashed off to the waiting airship.

He couldn't stop smiling at her retreating figure, startling slightly when his scroll went off, signaling a new picture message.

 **Coco Adel:** _you two are adorable_

He looked across the docks to Coco who was smirking as she and Fox waited for the ship that would take them to Atlas.

A blush creeped down his neck when he opened the attached picture - he hadn't realized Coco had taken a photo of him and Velvet curled up together on his bed, but he had to admit it was adorable.

He made his way across the shipyard to where Coco was smirking.

"You saw - Velvet and I - " he gestured back towards the ship heading to Menagerie.

Fox laughed. "Yatsu, even _I_ saw the two of you kiss."

His blush deepened. "Is that all right? I don't want to screw things up." He knew that dating within a team like that could affect the dynamics - and they had just started to find their footing.

Fox quickly gave his blessing, still grinning. Coco's poker face was nearly impossible to read, but she stayed quiet for some time - long enough that Fox elbowed her to get her response.

"Of course. I'm happy for you," she said, but it sounded flat - and even though they were hidden behind her sunglasses, Yatsu could tell the smile didn't reach her eyes.

Fox punched her shoulder before Yatsuhashi could react to the luke-warm response. "Coco! Tell the truth or get better at _lying_ ," he hissed.

She shook herself out of whatever had her distracted. "Sorry, just caught up in my own thoughts." Her smile was real this time and she lowered her sunglasses to wink at him. "I really am happy for you two. Just don't let it interfere - and wait until we're out of the room to get handsy, please?"

That brought his blush back in full force, and he stammered out a goodbye before beating a hasty retreat to the ship that would take him home.

* * *

 **Author's Note:  
** Sexuality headcanon time! I included how they respond to the question of 'what's your sexuality?' [and how it breaks down narratively speaking]

Coco: Demi-panromantic pansexual [This is a recent development - used to say aromantic pansexual]

Fox: Queer [bi/pan/polyromantic demi-bi/pan/polysexual]

Velvet: Bi [she likes the simplicity even if it doesn't quite fit perfectly, pan is closer but she doesn't like the long explanations that accompany it]

Yatsuhashi: Not straight (If pressed, he'll clarify he's "Not gay either.") [mostly just works out to being bi/pan romantic and demi bi/pan sexual]

Fun fact: This means that Coco and Fox went to prom together in combat school with the understanding that it was not a date and they weren't going to sleep together at the end of the night.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN:** Hey look, cover art! From Blackmors on Tumblr. Source is in the first chapter

I also wrote about Fox and Coco's prom night in the short story collection "Espresso Shots" - Chapter 1: An Atlas' Ball

* * *

The irregular beat Coco was drumming into the armrest with her fingers was driving Fox to distraction, and, now that they were in the relative peace and quiet of the airship, he could feel the anxiety pouring off her.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked. Coco's reaction to Velvet and Yatsuhashi had him worried. It was unlike her to be so unsettled by anything - much less something as normal as a kiss.

"No."

"Are you sure?" _He_ wanted to talk about it. His scroll had gone off every five minutes or so since they left - if he had to guess, it was more than likely Yatsuhashi, worried about how Coco had reacted.

" _No_."

He placed a hand on top of hers, stilling the incessant drumming. He wasn't about to let her worry herself sick over this, even if she didn't want to talk about it. Coco sighed, but didn't pull her hand away.

"Maybe later," she conceded. "I need to figure it out myself, first."

Fox made a mental note to ask again later. He had no doubt that Yatsu and Velvet would continue to be assets to the team even though they were together - but Coco's reaction could change things. He wondered if _he_ had missed something and there was actually going to be a problem.

When the stream of messages seemed to have stopped, he pulled out his scroll with his free hand and played them, using headphones to keep it private.

It took 20 minutes for Fox to listen through the series of increasingly-rambling voice messages Yatsuhashi had sent - they had started cordial and general, but had quickly dissolved into a worried soliloquy about him and Velvet getting together. Fox couldn't blame his teammate for being worried - _he_ was worried after Coco's initial response.

He tried not to think too hard about his own feelings that flared up whenever he thought of his two teammates together, and focused instead on figuring out how to reply.

When they touched down in Atlas, he slipped away to send Yatsuhashi a quick message back, trying to keep it reassuring and not worry the man more. "Hey Yatsu - try not to worry about it too much. I honestly don't know what's going on with Coco, but I know she's not worried about team dynamics. You two will work just fine together no matter what - we all know that." He hesitated, hating that he couldn't reassure Yatsuhashi better about the whole situation. "So - take a deep breath for me and I'll let you know if I find out more I can share. Fox out!"

He sighed as he sent the message. He was happy for his teammates - they were really sweet together - but he still couldn't shake the slight disappointment. They were both wonderful people and had slipped into his life so easily - and he could have seen himself dating either of them.

But it seemed like that wasn't an option anymore - not that he wasn't used to it; he'd had a crush on Coco for some years now. This was no different.

When they got through customs, there was a car waiting for them. There wasn't a driver - Coco's mother had long ago given up getting her to let other people drive.

"My mother messaged - she's not going to be home for several hours, says to start eating without her," she said as she pulled out of the parking lot. "Did you want to come with me or did you want to go to your place?"

Technically Fox did have a tiny little house on the outskirts of Atlas, but he almost never spent time there anymore. He would consider selling it, but it was the last piece of his blood family he had left now.

"Would rather go to yours." Like there had been any doubt. "Would need groceries if I went to mine and I'd really rather just relax tonight." He'd go there at some point, probably when Coco got sick of dealing with her mother and wanted to go somewhere else for a couple of weeks.

A comfortable silence fell as they made their way to the Adel manor. Fox knew this wasn't the time to ask about whatever was bothering her, but he was left wondering how much longer they could ignore the metaphorical goliath in the car with them.

* * *

Coco, for her part, was doing her best to ignore it. She didn't want to think about her feelings with regards to her teammates.

She was genuinely happy for Yatsu and Velvet - they were super cute together and would absolutely make one another happy. There was a _but_ , though. What she felt wasn't _envy_ , exactly - it wasn't an ugly feeling - more like a _longing_. The rational part of her mind stopped her from setting the photo of them as her scroll's wallpaper, but she caught herself pulling it up to look at it more often than she should have.

Rubbing her temples, she sat down for dinner with a sigh. It wouldn't be so difficult to ignore if she wasn't _also_ harboring feelings for Fox - ones she'd been ignoring for far longer than the past year. It had all become too much and now she was left needing to explain what was bothering her, lest her teammates get the wrong idea.

And telling them "I kind of have a crush on both of you and that's why I'm acting weird" probably wasn't going to go over too well.

All she could really hope for at this point was to get through dinner unscathed - her mother meant well, but after so many years of negotiating business deals with her semblance to assist her, she sometimes forgot to turn it off when she was talking with Coco.

They got about halfway through dinner before Lorraine Adel joined them, sweeping into the room with a stoic expression that gave way to a smile when she saw them. She looked quite a bit like her daughter, though her long hair was tied back in a tight bun and her fashion of choice was floor-length gowns in dark colors.

"Colette!" Coco and Fox stood at her mother's approach. Coco embraced her, kissing one another on the cheek. She tried not to cringe at her full name. "It's so wonderful to see you - and you too, Fox!" She moved around to where Fox was, giving him the same warm greeting.

They settled down at the table again to continue dinner.

"Colette, I was very pleased to find out you'd been named leader of your team," Lorraine said. "Not that I had any doubt - Adels are born leaders."

Coco cringed slightly. "I wasn't named leader because I'm an Adel, mother. Professor Ozpin simply thought I'd be best suited to the position."

"Of course - and that has nothing to do with having grown up an Adel." She took a sip of wine from her glass. "Colette, as much as you dislike admitting it, the Adel name does carry quite a bit of weight - and has no doubt helped prepare you for leadership positions."

She bit the inside of her cheek. There was some truth to it, as much as she wanted to believe she had managed it entirely on her own, independently of her last name. "Would you be happier if I told you about how classes are going?"

"I'd be happier if you came to Atlas instead." Her mother was nothing if not persistent. She hated that Coco had gone so far away for school - she hated that Coco had enrolled in combat school in the first place, but that was neither here nor there. "Atlas would be better suited for building your career here at home, give you solid connections and a closer look at what goes on behind the scenes in government."

"I'm not going to leave my team behind." She couldn't help but roll her eyes - of course her mother would start in on wanting her back in Atlas on day one.

Her mother sighed. "I'm sure I could convince General Ironwood to accept all four of you. It might take a few favors - but he knows Adels always honor their debts."

"Which is hardly fair to our other two teammates - they chose Beacon for a reason." As soon as the words left her mouth Coco realized she'd made a mistake. She was usually more careful than that.

An eerie silence fell over the table. While the statement was true, it was skirting around the edge of a lie - Velvet had technically chosen _Haven_ , not _Beacon_. The line was thin enough that something would register as off to her mother, even if she wouldn't be able to divine quite what.

Her eyes narrowed and her tone became more business-like as she probed for more information. "And what _were_ those reasons?"

"I've never asked." That was the whole truth, even though she knew some of their reasons because they'd willingly shared them. "Regardless, I'm not interested in attending Atlas." It was an old argument - one she thought had been resolved last year before she'd left for Beacon the first time.

Lorraine didn't scowl - the expression was too crass for her features - but her lips tightened into a thin line. "The middle Schnee child has enrolled at Beacon."

Coco sat back in her seat, a small smile crossing her face. The Schnees were a sore spot for her mother. When Coco had originally been trying to convince her mother that Vale was a good choice, Coco had argued that Beacon was a better choice because the Schnees attended _Atlas_.

Coco had prepared for this possibility, though. She had always tried to stay two steps ahead of whoever she was arguing with, _especially_ her mother. "Of course, they only started to attend Beacon after I did." She wondered for a moment if that had factored into Weiss's argument at all. "I highly doubt she would have come otherwise."

The insinuation that they had started a trend that the Schnees were trying to catch up on mollified her mother for the time being. Coco knew the game and how it was played - the rivalry with the Schnees went back for some time and her mother wouldn't take second-best to them.

Lorraine sat back in her seat, nodding. She could accept that the Schnees were simply scrambling to follow in their footsteps. Her self-assured smile returned. "So then, I guess my other question is: when did you two start dating?"

Fox dropped his silverware.

Coco froze. " _Mother_ ," she hissed.

"Don't ' _mother_ ' me!" She took a sip of her wine. "Don't think I haven't noticed you're not denying it."

"We aren't," Fox said, voice strangled. Coco hid her face in her hands.

"Why not?" Her mother sounded genuinely confused, looking back and forth between the two of them.

Coco knew the reason - this was why she _hated_ her family's semblance. There was no lying to herself on her mother's watch.

"Because Coco doesn't want to." Fox sounded like he'd given up on any other answer and Coco's heart twinged with guilt.

The self-assured smirk faltered, giving way to confusion. "Are you sure about that? Because it looks - "

" _Please_ , keep digging into my personal life at the dinner table," Coco interrupted, punctuating her words with a vicious stab at her steak. So much for getting through dinner unscathed. She wasn't quite sure how to tell Fox, but this was _not_ how she wanted him to find out.

"Apologies, Colette. I should have let you tell me in your own time." For all her faults, Lorraine Adel generally respected her daughter and her right to privacy.

Coco spared a glance up at Fox, who had cocked his head in confusion.

"How are your studies going?" her mother asked after a strained moment. "I see that Fox, here, has acquired a new scar."

Fox touched it self-consciously. "Training accident. We were trying something new in the field and it didn't quite go right."

"In the field doesn't seem like a safe place to try something new?" she asked, looking at Coco.

"It was my call, it was a bad one. We're still learning, it's only our first year." Coco relaxed slightly at the safer topic. This was something she could handle.

"Was it a bad call or were the results simply unfavorable?" She had also relaxed slightly with the change of topic, falling into the familiar role of mentor to Coco.

Fox tried to claim it was simply an accident that it was a fine call to make but Coco disagreed. "Velvet had raised concerns about the weapon when I first asked Professor Port to join us. It was a bad call."

He shook his head at her trying to blame herself. "I think we're just going to have to agree to disagree on that one."

"Well, as your leader, I'm saying I'm right," Coco said with a note of finality, causing the other two to laugh. "Tell us about how things have been going here in Atlas?"

Fox nudged her foot under the table as the conversation turned to trade deals and council negotiations. She knew the conversation wasn't over and this was just going to make him more determined to figure out the truth.

* * *

Fox knew not to push. He wasn't sure exactly what had happened over dinner with Coco's mother, but he knew that it had set Coco on edge.

He just trailed behind her as they walked through the manor towards her suite of rooms.

Everything she did was _loud_ \- the door was slammed open - then shut. Her boots were kicked into a corner in a jumble of leather and buckles. Even the lightswitch was somehow louder than it should have been. "I'm just being greedy," she finally said.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," she said, gritting her teeth. "It's bad enough wanting to sleep with all of you, but I was just starting to get a handle on _you_ and whatever romantic feelings I'm harboring for _you_ \- but then I saw Yatsu and Velvs kiss and maybe I want them, _too_?"

Fox's breath caught in his chest. It wasn't what he'd been expecting - not that he had many expectations going into this conversation. Coco had turned him down in combat school and he had accepted it wasn't going to happen.

"So suddenly I go from wanting to never date _anyone_ to wanting to date three people. And," she continued, voice taking on a slightly-hysterical lilt, "not only are two of them dating, not that I mind, the third asked me out about a year ago and I _turned him down_ because - get this - I 'don't do romance'! But even back then I thought there was something special about him." Her sunglasses hit the table next, followed by the softer sound of her beret. "And maybe Velvet and Yatsuhashi are new and I'm not one-hundred percent certain it's the same as what I feel for you, but I'm pretty damned sure."

He grabbed her hand. "Coco." Her panic was rolling off her in waves. "Take a deep breath for me. Nothing has to happen if you don't _want_ it to."

"And that's the problem, isn't it, Fox?" She cupped his cheek in her hand. "I want it. I want _you_ \- all of you."

* * *

 **Velvet Scarlatina:** _Yatsu?_

* * *

Fox wrapped one arm around her waist. "Well you're in luck." His other hand went to her cheek. "Because I want you."

She pulled back slightly. "And the rest?" she asked quietly. It probably wasn't going to be a deal-breaker for her, but it would be good to know.

* * *

 **Yatsuhashi Daichi:** _Yeah, Velvs?_

* * *

He didn't think she was "being greedy" - he was attracted to all three of them, too. However, he struggled to admit it out loud. He'd finally gotten what he had wanted for years - Coco was in his arms, wanting to date him.

It should have been enough that she was here with him.

Asking for more did feel a bit greedy.

* * *

 **Velvet Scarlatina:** _What would you say. If. I said I liked Fox and Coco, too._

* * *

"It would depend on what everyone wanted," he said, avoiding a direct answer.

Her hand moved from his face to around his shoulders.

"And what do _you_ want, Fox?" She wasn't about to let him dance around the subject or try to weasel out of answering.

* * *

 **Velvet Scarlatina:** _The way I like you._

* * *

"You." He shrugged. "As for the rest?" A sigh as he realized he would have to be honest. "I don't know. We make a good team. I see no reason we couldn't be more - if that's what they wanted. How's that?"

* * *

 **Yatsuhashi Daichi:** _I'd say I do, as well, and would love to be with all three of you if everyone wanted that._

* * *

"That sounds wonderful," she admitted. "I'm just - nervous." The laugh that accompanied the statement was high and felt forced.

She'd always been the stronger one of the two of them - willing to step in and take any hit, even if it was primarily a tongue-lashing. Now, he held her as she struggled to relax and let go of the ever-present strength.

She relaxed by inches, going up on tiptoe to press her lips to his briefly before pulling away. "Still don't want to sleep with you."

He laughed. "You're lying."

"Maybe." She settled back on her heels and hesitancy crept into her voice. "But maybe you'd like to stay here and cuddle tonight?"

"I'd like that," he said before she could take it back. A shit-eating grin appeared on his face when he realized: "Told you you wanted to sleep with me."

"Don't make me regret asking," she said, slipping out of his arms to get ready for bed.

* * *

 **Velvet Scarlatina:** _Hey, Yatsu?_

 **Velvet Scarlatina:** _I really like Fox and Coco, too._


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: This chapter contains spoilers for Volume 4 Episode 5: Menagerie**

* * *

"Colette."

Coco jumped at the sound of her mother's voice. She'd successfully avoided her mother for the last three days - not wanting to deal with the fallout of the disastrous first dinner, however there was only so much she could do when they lived in the same house.

"Yes, mother?" she said, looking up briefly from where she was assembling ammunition for her gatling gun.

"I'm not going to convince you to transfer to Atlas, am I?" Coco startled slightly. She'd been expecting a further interrogation about Fox, not this old argument. "Even though it's clearly the better choice for when you take over as owner and CEO of Adel Enterprises." She was using the same business-like tone she always did when talking about the company.

Coco sighed and shook her head. "I like Beacon." Yes, Atlas had better connections - especially for a company based in the country - but Beacon suited her better since it was more focused on the type of hunting she wanted to do.

After an extended moment of silence, Coco looked up, half expecting her mother to be glaring at her.

Instead, she was _fidgeting_.

Lorraine Adel did many things - but she did not _fidget_. Coco put down the components in her hand as her mother shifted her weight from foot to foot, unable to meet Coco's eyes. "I've asked your cousin, Marcelle, to come out to visit next month."

Marcelle was just a year younger than Coco, making her the second oldest of their generation. She had shown a keen interest in the family business, and had already begun to make a name for herself as a model and fashion designer. Coco raised an eyebrow.

"It's become increasingly apparent to me that you've made your decision as to what you want to do with your life." Her voice had gone soft, taking a tone Coco rarely heard from her mother. "I'm not going to cut you off - far from it - but I'm thinking if Marcelle and you both agree, I'll name her successor to Adel Enterprises."

Coco was grateful she had already put her cartridges down, otherwise she may have dropped them, and that's not something you want to do with dust. "I - I'm sorry?"

Lorraine Adel stood a little taller and smoothed non-existent wrinkles from her dress. "While you're my daughter, you've made it clear that you'd prefer to become a full-time huntress over running Adel Enterprises, and I wanted to make it easier for you." She wasn't making an accusation; she was simply stating the facts without judgement.

Coco froze, like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Tell me I'm wrong," her mother said gently. "Tell me I'm wrong and it'll just be a familial visit with Marcelle where we catch up and I promise to make her a vice president in a few years."

Coco licked her lips and turned back to the project she'd been working on when her mother walked in. "Marcelle would do much better as your successor than I would." She closed her eyes, not pretending to be able to focus on her bullets. "I'm a leader, just like you. It might be of a small team of hunters and not a multinational corporation, but it's what I have." It wasn't a full admission of wanting to not be involved in the company, but it was a start.

Her mother nodded. "I know you are, Co - " she paused on the first syllable of Coco's name, changing her mind halfway through and stumbling over the less familiar nickname. "Coco. I'm proud of you."

She'd refused to use Coco's nickname after Coco had adopted it at age 13 to fit in with her peers better. _Adels don't use color-based names, Colette. We won't ever lose sight of who we were before the Great War. We aren't like the_ Schnees _. We don't need to lower ourselves to their level._

Coco nodded, making an excuse about going to find Fox - he'd stepped out to call Yatsuhashi about something - and left, abandoning the project on the table.

* * *

Three days into the break, Coco's mother asked Fox to give them some privacy to discuss a family matter. He decided to step out and call Yatsuhashi, knowing his teammate was probably still worried about everything that had happened.

However, Fox wasn't really sure what to say to Yatsu. He wasn't ready to tell his teammate everything, but "Coco and I are dating now" seemed like a reasonable starting point.

He was afraid of fucking any of this up - the three of them were the only people he was close to; they were the only people in his life he had begun to refer to as family.

The sound of Yatsu's voice had quickly become a source of comfort for him, and hearing him over the phone made him smile and relax. However, when Fox told Yatsu that he and Coco were dating, the line went quiet, almost as if the call had been disconnected.

"Yatsu? Is everything all right?"

"Fine," he said, though he sounded a lot like Coco had just before they left Beacon, distracted and hiding something - but Fox wasn't sure why Yatsuhashi would be lying about this.

Fox hesitated. He didn't have the same history with Yatsuhashi as he did with Coco, but he felt the need to push anyway. He now fully understood Yatsu's earlier worries when Coco had been acting strangely. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, of course." He sounded almost normal - he was much better than Coco at concealing his emotions when he put some effort into it, and so it was hard to tell. "How's Atlas treating you? Coco's family driven you up the wall yet?"

Fox laughed and allowed the change of subject. Coco hadn't been ready to tell them yet anyway, wanting to sort out her own feelings on the matter before involving the other two. Now Fox was doubting whether it'd be a good idea to tell them at all.

* * *

Yatsuhashi closed his scroll with a sigh. He'd been so worried about telling Velvet he had feelings for their two teammates that he hadn't stopped to consider that Fox and Coco might have their own plans. _Ideally_ they'd all be dating one another, but it seemed much harder to approach them as a couple rather than them as two single people.

"Boy troubles?" his mother asked when he came into the kitchen and saw the look on Yatsu's face.

"Mom! He's got a _girlfriend_ ," his brother said, jumping up to give Yatsuhashi a hug. "Are we going to bake cookies _now_?"

"Girl troubles, then?" she amended with a smile.

"Velvet and I are fine," he reassured them, ruffling his brother's hair. "Cookies sound delightful." He started pulling out the various ingredients they'd need. "Just talking with Fox."

"Now what has that young man done to put that look on your face?" He'd spent the last several days talking about his teammates almost non-stop and they all knew how fond he was of all three of them.

"Nothing, mama." He had no doubt that his family would accept all of them, he just wasn't ready to talk about it when it looked like it wasn't going to amount to anything. "Are you going to help with the baking or just watch?"

* * *

Once back on Menagerie, Velvet's parents had been kind and given her a week to relax before sitting her down in the living room to talk. "So - tell us about Beacon."

She wanted to point out that location didn't matter to her as much as the pursuit of becoming a huntress, but her parents didn't really understand the drive to want to protect the kingdoms they'd been essentially exiled from. "Beacon is good - my team is fantastic. My partner - " she smiled when she thought of the selfie Yatsu had sent a couple of days prior where he was covered in flour " - is really kind and supportive." She wasn't quite ready to say they'd started… dating, or whatever they were doing. It was too new, and her parents would be too suspicious of him because he's human. They'd come around eventually, but it was better to just leave it alone for now.

"It just seems like a punishment, sending you off to Beacon the way they did." Her mother frowned, one rabbit ear falling back. "Shouldn't they have tried to keep you at Haven?"

Velvet shook her head. "It wasn't a punishment - I knew that requesting a transfer to a different team would probably end like this, and there was no way I could stay with my old team. Plus, now I'm closer to home." She gripped the arm of the chair, keeping her hand from going to the scar her former team had left on her stomach. "And despite my worries about Coco, she's actually very sweet and looks after all three of us."

Her mom opened her mouth to say something else, but stopped herself, changing the subject. "We saw Kali and Ghira last week, they asked how you were doing. Apparently their daughter enrolled in Beacon and will be starting this fall."

Velvet startled back slightly. "Really? I thought Blake was staying with the White Fang, even after Ghira stepped down as leader to be chieftan here."

"They thought so to, but she sent word of the change in plans. You'll look out for her, right? We don't know of anyone else from Menagerie and the Belladonnas are worried."

"Of course, mom. Don't worry, I'll keep an eye out for Blake."

* * *

The four of them did their best to stay in touch over the long break, but by the end they were all antsy to be back at Beacon together. The school year ahead was looking promising, and they were all looking forward to the Vytal Festival as a break from boring classes.

Velvet arrived first and lingered at the docks, waiting for Yatsuhashi's airship from Vacuo. While they had been talking every day since the start of break, she missed his presence, and hoped that it wasn't going to be awkward while they worked out what it meant to be physically close again.

But she needn't have worried - as soon as he spotted her, Yatsuhashi dropped everything to wrap her in a big hug, lifting her several inches off the ground in the process.

She couldn't bring herself to care, eagerly throwing her arms around him as well.

"Velvet! Maidens, I missed you."

"Missed you too, Yatsu," she murmured, pressing a quick kiss to his lips. "When do Coco and Fox get in?"

"I think they were due to arrive just a few minutes after we were." He eased his grip on her, letting her settle back on her feet and took her hand in his instead.

Sure enough it didn't take long to find them in the throng of students. They were walking hand-in-hand as well, Coco blushing slightly when she spotted the other two, but she didn't drop Fox's hand until they were close enough to exchange hugs.

Velvet found it hard to remember why it was a bad idea to say anything when she was holding the others, but remembered when she saw the small smile Coco had whenever she looked at Fox.

* * *

After unpacking, they made their way to the big auditorium for the naming of the new first-year teams, as per tradition. Velvet was particularly invested, since she would be attending Oobleck's class with them, but otherwise they went simply because the entire school was expected to go.

When the final team was announced - team RWBY - Velvet let out a hiss of alarm. It'd been nearly silent, but both Yatsu and Coco grabbed her hands from where they sat on either side of her. It was a sweet gesture, even if they thought she was concerned about herself. (And Coco's hand in hers was making Velvet's heart pound way too hard, and question yet again whether or not to tell the other two about her and Yatsu's feelings.)

Coco had told her to expect Weiss Schnee, so that wasn't a surprise. Velvet also wasn't concerned for her own safety - but Weiss was on the same team as Blake Belladonna.

It was probably for the best Blake had taken to wearing a bow over her cat ears. There was no telling what Weiss would do if she found out Blake was a faunus; Maidens forbid she find out Blake was the daughter of the previous leader of the White Fang.

Of course, Coco had been of little help when it came to figuring out what kind of views Weiss held.

"I didn't know her well - our families aren't exactly on good terms." Coco peered over her sunglasses at Velvet. "Why, is she bothering you?"

Velvet reassured her that Weiss was _fine_ \- that there weren't any issues with her. Coco frowned, but she dropped the subject.

Blake was easy enough to find - their shared class with Doctor Oobleck gave Velvet an excuse to talk to her.

There was no avoiding Weiss Schnee, though, whose eyes narrowed with suspicion as soon as Velvet approached. "Hey Blake, do you have your notes from last class?"

"I do - they're back in my room though - do you want to borrow them?"

"If I could? I think I missed something last class, based on today's lecture." She probably wasn't fooling anyone with the half-hearted lie.

Blake just nodded, though, and waved the rest of her team off to grab lunch without her. The walk back to RWBY's dorm was made in silence and Blake locked the door behind them once they were inside.

Velvet's nose twitched at the… _unique_ arrangement of the beds.

"Is everything all right?" Blake asked, having made no move to get her notes out.

Velvet bit her bottom lip. She wasn't great at this. "That's what I wanted to ask you. Weiss _Schnee_?"

Blake pinched the bridge of her nose. "She's not bothering you, is she?"

Velvet shook her head. "I was concerned about _you_. My parents asked me to check in on you - they're friends with Kali and Ghira."

Blake sighed and glanced up as she deliberately made her bow twitch. "I'm safe. None of them know - they don't even know who Ghira and Kali Belladonna _are_. Though, I could ask the same of you - Coco _Adel_." Her smile was crooked. "At least Weiss isn't our leader; no matter how much she may have whined about it."

Velvet blushed - she hadn't even thought about how she might seem to be in an even _worse_ position than Blake, unable to hide her ears and in a team with Coco as her _leader_. "Coco is…" she stumbled over her words "better than I thought."

Blake nodded. "Weiss is… worse."

Velvet reached out and put a comforting hand on Blake's shoulder. "If you ever need someone to talk to - somewhere to go, team CFVY's dorm is always open."

Blake didn't look like she'd take Velvet up on the offer, but the older girl felt better for having extended it.

* * *

With the new year came new assholes and bigots. Despite her initial worry about Weiss Schnee, her flavor of prejudices, at least, wasn't targeted directly at Velvet and was restrained to the occasional snide remark.

Cardin and his team were more of an issue, though, deciding that Velvet was an easy target of their bigotry and racism.

She would always rush out of the cafeteria on the days she couldn't dine with her team - she wasn't going to make them rush their lunch just because she had to. (Coco had agreed with her after they got detention for being late to Peach's class twice in a row because they got so caught up talking they didn't notice it was time for class.)

For the most part, their jeers were only verbal and they kept their distance - she _was_ a year ahead of them.

Until her status as a second-year was no longer enough and they surrounded her in the cafeteria, turning it physical.

No one helped. No one came to assist, despite everyone watching her be humiliated by the other team.

So she fled - not to class the way she should have, but back to their dorm. It was a bad idea to try and go to Professor Peach's class when she was so distraught.

She sent a quick text to Yatsu, letting him know she wasn't feeling well and was going to lay down for a bit (and that they should go to dinner after class without her). It was true - she crashed face down onto his bed as soon as she let herself in.

Beacon was better, ultimately, but it still hurt - still hurt to be reminded she was _different_.

Her scroll went off an hour or so later.

 **Yatsuhashi Daichi:** _Want me to bring you some food or come join you?_

 **Velvet Scarlatina:** _wouldn't say no to you joining me_

It took him all of five minutes to get there. "I told Fox and Coco to go on to dinner without us," he said by way of greeting. "They'll bring something for both of us." He settled onto the bed next to her, stroking her hair. "How are you feeling?"

She rolled over to look at him. "I'm not sick," she said, curling up on herself. "Just… bad day."

He tentatively pressed a kiss to the top of her head and then wrapped an arm around her. "Want to talk about it?"

She shook her head. "Can you touch my ears?" Though they had spoken a lot over the summer break and grown closer, they were still hesitant about the more physical aspects of their relationship.

Given permission, he eagerly did so, hand going straight to stroke the soft fur. He still took care to be gentle, applying only the lightest pressure to her rabbit ears.

Though she wasn't _injured_ she still winced when his fingers brushed over bruises that were concealed beneath the fur.

His hand immediately withdrew. "I'm sorry - how should I…"

"No! You're fine," she hastened to reassure him. "They're just…" she sighed as she realized there would be no getting around this. "Tender."

He leaned in and pressed a very gentle kiss to the base of each ear. "Tender? Does that happen often?"

Her ears drooped. She looked up, meeting his concerned gaze for a split second before having to look away. "Only when someone's been rough with them," she whispered, taking a deep, shuddering breath.

The arm that was wrapped around her shoulders tightened. "Who?"

"Does it matter who it was this week?" She knew her question wasn't fair - team CRDL was certainly worse than most - but she hated it. She hated that it didn't really matter who - it was only a matter of _how often_. "If it's not a senior team," she said, referring to the first group who had cornered her last year, "then it's a freshman one - or strangers on the street!" Her hands went up to cover her face. "I'm just grateful it's not _you_ and the rest of my team."

"It matters if they're hurting you," he murmured. His free hand went back to very gently stroking her ears.

She shook her head. "Not really, just a bruised pride, more than anything."

His gentle stroking stopped, both of his arms wrapping around her to pull her into his lap. "And tender ears," he added quietly, holding her close. "Maybe I want to be able to touch you without hurting you. And maybe we want you to know we have your back."

"I _do_ know that. I don't need your help." It sounded sulky even to her ears.

"If you're sure."

She nodded, curling up in Yatsuhashi's lap a little closer.

* * *

Coco and Fox let themselves into the dorm room quietly, keeping in mind Velvet wasn't feeling the greatest.

She smiled when she saw Yatsu and Velvet curled up on his bed together.

"How are you feeling?" Fox asked, setting the food he was carrying down on the desk.

Coco did the same, then took off her gloves so she could feel Velvet's forehead. Yatsuhashi had no doubt done just fine taking care of Velvet, but she was still concerned. "You don't feel like you have a fever."

Velvet's ears twitched and she hid her face in the crook of Yatsuhashi's neck.

Coco exchanged a concerned look with Yatsu, sitting down on the bed with them. "Velvs?" she asked, carefully reaching out to stroke her back. "Does this have something to do with team CRDL?"

She flinched, confirming Coco's suspicions. "You _promised_ you wouldn't interfere." She didn't sound upset - more like a reminder that they had promised not to step in on her behalf.

"We won't," Coco promised, as much as it pained her to do so. She wrapped her arm around Velvet, grateful for the excuse to touch her teammate. Fox climbed onto the bed too, joining in the cuddle pile that had formed. He smiled as he got settled, managing to arrange himself between Yatsu and Coco alongside Velvet.

When Yatsuhashi shifted to hold all three of them, not just Velvet, Coco couldn't help but wonder if they were enjoying it as well.


	7. Chapter 7

While it had started relatively normally, their second year at Beacon was going to be complicated by the addition of the Vytal Festival. The school was prepared for the biennial event, but it pushed up their second year away mission and generally disrupted the normal flow of classes.

Additionally, the influx of students had them all on edge, doubly so when Yatsuhashi swore he saw someone who looked like Farris in the group of Haven students.

Coco tried not to let it get to her, but she found herself scanning groups of students from Haven for the familiar face, but there were too many - and she didn't see them that often. She wasn't so concerned about Farris as she was about Velvet's old team showing up to harass her - as if they didn't have enough problems with team CRDL.

Professor Goodwitch grabbed her attention after class shortly after other students started arriving. "Miss Adel, if I could have a moment?"

"Of course, professor." Coco turned to her teammates and told them to go on ahead. She wondered why Goodwitch wanted to speak with her - they were all performing well in their classes - and dating teammates wasn't against the rules (even though it was generally frowned upon due to potential issues down the line). Had she noticed what was happening with team CRDL? What to do about the team had been weighing on her mind. She couldn't go against Velvet's wishes and confront them directly, or go to the professors, but surely if one of _them_ brought it up first…

"Would you - and the rest of team CFVY - be willing to help organize the dance that's supposed to open the Vytal Festival next month? We're in need of some…" she tapped her riding crop against her thigh as she thought of the word she was looking for, "… _responsible_ individuals who would be able to pull together a successful event."

Coco's brow furrowed - that wasn't what she'd been expecting. "May I ask why _us_?" The brief confusion as to why their team gave way to disappointment - if Goodwitch had brought up CRDL and how they'd been treating Velvet, she could express her concerns without breaking her promise to her teammate.

"Team CFVY is an ideal candidate for this task as you represent multiple cultures on Remnant getting along harmoniously - exactly what the Vytal Festival is about."

"Of course." Coco pursed her lips. "Though we have that away mission coming up."

"You should be back in plenty of time."

"I'll confirm with the rest of my team, but I'm sure it won't be an issue."

"Perfect, thank you Miss Adel." Goodwitch pulled out her scroll and tapped at it for a moment, and Coco's buzzed a moment later. "On that subject - I just sent you the registration information and rules for the tournament. Team CFVY qualified with ease - we'd just need you to fill out some paperwork to confirm your participation."

"Of course, thank you professor." Another thing to talk to the rest of her team about. She also wanted to talk to Fox and Yatsu about team CRDL, see if they had any ideas. Of course, she wasn't even sure they would have known there was a problem if Blake hadn't approached Coco the week before.

"Miss Adel?"

Coco startled out of her thoughts. "Was there something else, Professor Goodwitch?"

"I was wondering if there was something else you wanted to talk to me about."

She hesitated. Technically Goodwitch was asking - there was no way she didn't know about team CRDL - but it wasn't enough for Coco. She couldn't bring herself to say anything first - not when Velvet had been so insistent about letting her handle it.

"No ma'am."

"If you're sure."

Coco nodded and went to catch up with the rest of her team.

* * *

When the study sessions a few days later moved from Advanced Grimm Studies to braille, Yatsuhashi went back to the dorm room.

Coco hadn't joined the three of them for their impromptu study party, opting instead to spend some time in the room alone reviewing what was expected of them for the year.

He let himself in quietly, not wanting to disturb her if she was busy.

She was hunched over her desk, intently looking at something on her scroll. Her beret and sunglasses were set to one side.

Yatsuhashi set his things down on his own desk before walking up behind her. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"Goodwitch sent out the tournament rules for the Vytal Festival." She sat back, dropping the scroll onto her desk. "And I'm trying to make sense of them."

He picked up her scroll, starting to look over the rules, one hand on the back of her chair. "What isn't making sense?"

"Us participating." She leaned back to rest her head against his arm and he abandoned the scroll on the desk. "Velvs doesn't like fighting people and I wouldn't want her wasting her weapon - or exposing it - for something as superficial as this. Fox still struggles sometimes against unknown combatants - especially when there are multiple. He'd do well in the singles round, but the doubles or even team round? Not so much. And you and I - we're _good_ , but we're heavy hitters. We would do so poorly in the doubles round - to the point that I don't think getting to singles would be a viable option. But when Goodwitch sent the information, she said we'd already qualified and all she needed was for us to fill out and sign the form - and the one she sent was already filled out." She shook her head. "I think she _expects_ us to participate."

His hands went to her shoulders, thumbs digging into the tight muscles along the back of her neck. After having watched the Vytal Festival for years, he couldn't disagree with her assessment of how Fox and Velvet would do, but there was something about her assessment of the two of them that bothered him. "You really think we'd do so poorly?"

She tilted her head back to meet his eyes. "I think we'd do our best, but I'm not sure it's worth trying." She sighed, closing her eyes. "But everyone seems to expect us to enter. Though, if somehow we make it to the finals round, you'd be a better contender than I would. I'd send Fox, but he'd have to compete in the doubles round first - and I'm not going to ask him to do that."

"It's not a choice you have to make on your own, you know. You can ask Fox and Velvet what they think first."

The reminder had her relaxing a bit, helped along by his gentle massaging. She _had_ been planning to ask them, she just wanted to figure out her own thoughts on the subject before seeking theirs out.

"Do you want to know what I think?" he continued.

She closed her eyes as the tension eased out of her neck and shoulders. "Always, Yatsu."

The tenderness in her voice with that had him smiling. "I think you're underestimating Velvet's desire to prove to people she can defend herself - and Fox's ability to handle himself in new situations. But you're right. This isn't what we do - not really." He tapped the back of the chair thoughtfully. "Though - if team CRDL is participating, it might give us a chance to vent some frustrations."

That _was_ an enticing proposition - no matter how remote the chances of them getting paired up actually were.

"Not that they're the only team I'd mind having an excuse to shoot," Coco mused.

He had to agree - especially with Farris floating around Beacon, there was a good chance that Velvet's old team was here for the tournament. Gods knew they were looking forward to a chance to exact revenge.

Fox and Velvet walked in at that moment, dropping their books on their desks and coming over to where Coco and Yatsu stood. "If we're going to have a cuddle pile, I vote we do it on a bed again," Velvet said, wrapping an arm around Yatsuhashi's waist. "What's got you two looking so serious?"

"The tournament," Coco said, reaching for Fox's hand. "What do you think? Should we enter? We qualified."

Velvet agreed to it almost immediately. "I think it'll be fun. I'll be able to take photos too."

"It'll at least be more interesting than listening to it." Fox smiled. "Coco used to have it on all the time when we were kids - we went a couple times when it was hosted in Atlas."

"So it's settled." Yatsuhashi gave Coco's shoulder a squeeze. "Nothing wrong with giving it a shot and seeing what happens."

"I'll turn in the application, then." She picked her scroll back up off the desk and sent off the confirmation with just a few taps. "I'm sure we'll find out more once we get back from the away mission." She pulled up the next message. "Though, speaking of the tournament, Goodwitch asked if we'd be willing to help plan out the dance."

"Us? Why?" Velvet asked.

"She thought we'd be a good choice - something about being a great team to represent the Vytal Festival's symbol of unity and harmony between the kingdoms. I reminded her we had our second year mission coming up and she said we should be back in plenty of time, so what do you think? It doesn't look like there's a whole lot to do beyond setting up and decorating."

"I wouldn't be opposed," Yatsuhashi said.

Velvet looked up at him and then shrugged. "Sounds like fun."

Fox was grinning, which could only mean he was about to say something snarky. "As long as I get to pick out the color scheme."

* * *

Even with planning the dance, the four of them still had to squeeze in their regular training schedule.

Like most mornings, it was quiet in the gym when Yatsuhashi and Fox got there.

"Coco wants to do something about team CRDL," Yatsuhashi said, breaking the silence near the end of their routine. It had been something that had been bothering him since Coco had brought it up a few days prior. He trusted Fox to have a level head on the matter.

"I know." He punched the heavy punching bag Yatsuhashi was bracing for him, causing the whole thing to shake, despite his teammate's grip. "We shouldn't though."

"Why not?" Yatsuhashi agreed with Fox, but he was curious as to his teammate's thoughts on the issue.

Fox slammed his fist into the bag hard enough to make his aura flare. "Do you know why I train early in the morning?"

"I assumed it was because you preferred the solitude or simply were more of a morning person than Coco."

He laughed at that and gestured sharply to the room at large. "How many people are here right now?"

Yatsuhashi looked around, not sure where this was going. "Three, plus us, so five?"

"Exactly." He slammed his fist into the bag again. "I come here at this hour because whenever there's too many people, there's a high chance they'll decide that the blind man is a prime target for harassment."

Yatsuhashi frowned. "Does Coco know?"

"Of course. I've convinced her to leave it to me - that it doesn't help to interfere."

Yatsuhashi nodded, remembering Velvet's words from the year before - she had expressed the same sentiment. "So what do we do? Leave Velvet to fend for herself?"

"Of course not." Fox stepped away, taking a long drink from his water bottle. "But you do it in a way that doesn't involve detention from Goodwitch for a month. You go with her to lunch, be a deterrent _without_ confronting them." He reached out, patting Yatsuhashi on the arm. "Velvet can protect herself. But just because she's stubborn about asking for help doesn't mean you _can't_."

"And what about you?" Yatsu asked, letting go of the bag.

"What about me?"

"Are you just as stubborn about asking for help?"

Fox laughed and gestured to the mostly-empty room. "I didn't even have to ask. You're just a morning person." He clasped Yatsu's shoulder. "Come on, Coco set up a tux fitting for the two of us. Something about needing to have a proper suit for the dance."

* * *

While the boys were out getting their clothes for the dance, Coco took Velvet shopping. The small boutique Coco had dragged her to had a wide assortment of dresses and accessories perfect for the dance - and none of the employees had batted an eye at Velvet's rabbit ears.

When they'd first arrived, it'd been a flurry of measurements and cloth, taking almost two hours before settling on the perfect dress for each of them.

Velvet kept running her hands over the soft cloth - the teal dress Coco had suggested wasn't her normal color, but it was absolutely gorgeous.

"You don't think it's too low-cut?" she asked again, shifting to see the dress from a different angle. Not that she thought Yatsuhashi would _mind_ the view.

"I don't, but if you do I'm sure they could adjust it." Coco walked up behind her, carrying a pair of silver heels for Velvet to try on.

Coco was already in a form-fitting, chocolate-colored dress. It had an equally deep neckline, but also left most of her back open.

Velvet bit her bottom lip, eyes darting between the shoes and Coco's face. "I don't do heels, Coco. I'm tall enough as it is." She also tended to forget how to walk when put in anything taller than an inch.

"Yatsu is still six inches taller than you, Velvs. Two inch heels aren't going to make that much of a difference. Try them on, at least?" Coco cajoled, extending them towards her.

She rolled her eyes but took the offered shoes. They fit like they were made for her - and if Velvet hadn't known Coco had just grabbed them off the shelf, she would have suspected she had gone out and got the shoes custom made. "I'm going to have to learn to walk in these," she griped, taking a tentative step. "Much less dance."

Coco took her hand and wrapped the other around Velvet's waist. "It's easy."

Velvet let out a little yelp of surprise but put her free hand on Coco's shoulder. "Says you," she mumbled, carefully following Coco as they spun around the area slowly.

"You'll do fine, and if you have to lean on your boyfriend to steady yourself, all the better." She waggled her eyebrows, which made Velvet laugh. "What do you think of my dress, by the way? Think Fox will like it?"

"It suits you," she said, reaching out to feel the fabric. "And it's soft. I think Fox will enjoy figuring out the shape of it."

Coco smiled. "Well, if you're willing to trade partners for at least one song, maybe Fox will get a chance to enjoy your dress too."

Velvet blushed furiously, imagining dancing with Fox, and nodded. "I would like that."

If Velvet's fantasy was followed by one of her dancing with Coco, well, her leader never had to know.

* * *

The night before they were scheduled to meet with Professor Port to discuss their options for their away mission, Coco climbed into Fox's bed. As a rule, they'd slept apart now that they were sharing a room with their two teammates, and so the unexpected movement when she pulled the covers back woke him up.

"Fox?" she whispered, curling up around him.

He twisted in her arms so they were laying face to face. "Hrm?"

"How would you feel if we invited Yatsu and Velvet to the dance with us?"

He yawned, not fully understanding the question. "I thought they were already going?"

"I meant _with_ us. Like - as a date."

"Oh!" He contemplated the question for a moment, nuzzling against her neck. "Maybe wait until after the mission? I think we'll all focus better if we wait."

Coco had to agree. There was nothing wrong with waiting until after they'd gotten back. "Sounds like a plan."

* * *

 **AN:** The AO3 version has links to the dresses I was thinking of. (And I'm back! Hi, sorry about the delay.)


	8. Chapter 8

**AN:** And we're back! Things I have done since the last update: written and published a 1,200 word fic, _(Listen Up, Strap In) Notify Your Next of Kin_ , finished and published a 15,000 word fic, _The Crosses They Bear_ (both exclusive to AO3), outlined 2 new fics and moved. The only one of those things I was expecting when I published chapter 7 was the 15k fic. What have you been up to?

* * *

Despite starting preparations for the tournament and dance, team CFVY still had one major thing they had to do before they could relax and enjoy the festivities: their year two mission.

For it, they had a full job board at their theory, they could pick anything they wanted. In practice, they worked with one of the professors at Beacon to pick something suited for the team - and they would then be able to advise from afar if the team ran into issues in the field. (In an emergency, the professor would even join them in the field to help directly, but it was a rare occurrence.)

Coco bit back a frustrated groan when she saw that Professor Port was going to be theirs.

She tried to reassure herself that all the professors at Beacon were capable hunters, but Port's in-class stories left a lot to be desired. She also couldn't shake the mental image from their last mission, when Port's weapon had caught Fox across the face.

They sat down with him two weeks before the dance that would kick off the tournament to look over their options.

"What types of missions are you looking at doing?" Professor Port asked as they settled in. "We have some fairly standard search and destroy, rescue…" He clicked through various listing as he spoke.

"Would love to go out to one of the smaller towns and help there; something like a rescue mission would be good." While search and destroy would have been fine, Coco wanted to have more interactions with the greater population of Remnant - and with someone to give advice if it went wrong, it seemed like a good choice.

Professor Port nodded, looking through the available missions. "Here's a new one - we heard from a huntsman in a small village outside of Vale. A recent landslide cut them off from normal supply lines and could use some help." He looked over the mission parameters. "You'll need to hike in from some distance out - the bullheads can't get in close, as Botan is well-protected by the mountains surrounding it."

Coco looked to her teammates. "What do you think? Shouldn't take too long, we'll be back in plenty of time for the dance." She pulled up a map that displayed the area. It looked to be about a two day hike from the nearest drop point. "Day and a half in, three days there, day and a half out?" she mused out loud. "Could even stay a few extra days if needed." A week wasn't a bad length for their second year mission. It wouldn't even normally require a hunter, but with the roads inaccessible, there was no safe passage - and with scroll reception being spotty outside of the kingdom, it was better to have a professional handle it. Few others would risk being attacked by grimm in the forest surrounding the area.

Of course, bandits were always going to be a risk that far outside of the kingdom, but there wasn't anything they could do about that other than prepare for a potential attack.

Professor Port chuckled. "I would hope that it wouldn't take even _that_ long. You are only there to deliver supplies, though if you were to stay a day or two and help with repairs, that would be not only acceptable but noble of you! As a second-year team, you're expected to act independently on this mission. In this case, you will coordinate with the local huntsman to determine what's needed." He started to tap away at the display. "All I ask is that you check in regularly with me so I know how you're doing."

"Of course," Coco said, and the rest of the team nodded in agreement. "Let's do it."

Professor Port started to enter in the appropriate information. "Excellent! The bullhead will be here as soon as possible to take you to the drop point. However, I will need one thing from you before you go - a secondary point of contact. Last year, you, Ms. Adel were that person if the hunter you were shadowing had fallen off the grid. However, since you'll be acting independently this year, we'll need you to name a second in command." His nose twitched and he added, "Many leaders put their partner down, but it's not a requirement."

Coco drummed her fingers on the table, looking over her teammates. Fox was already shaking his head, and she agreed. Sure, they were partners, and pushed into the situation he would have done _fine_ but he wasn't the best choice of her team.

On the other hand, Velvet had shown she had a great head for strategy. This was a good time to acknowledge and showcase her contributions.

"Velvet." She looked to her teammate. "Unless she has an issue with that."

Velvet flushed and ducked her head. "Not Fox?"

Coco shook her head. "You're a better choice, plus if I fall out of contact, chances are Fox did too." They were dancing around saying 'killed' - it wasn't something she really wanted to think about, but it was a possibility.

Velvet studied Coco's expression for a long moment, then looked over to Professor Port. "That - that makes sense." She looked to Yatsuhashi but he shook his head.

"I trust your judgment, Velvs," he said.

She nodded. "If you're sure."

"Then that's settled," Coco said with a reassuring smile. "Anything else you need from us?"

"A fine choice!" he said, moustache twitching as he looked over his notes. "I believe that's everything. You leave in an hour and head to an outpost to get supplies and then you'll be taken to the drop point. From there, you'll hike in." He pulled out a paper map and offered it to Coco. "Good luck and stay in touch."

* * *

The small town was a welcome sight after a day and a half of traveling. It was a remote mountain village, as promised, though clearly had been around for some time. It was flanked on three sides by sheer cliffs and the road leading into it wasn't exactly easy to traverse - doubly so now that there had been a landslide blocking several miles of cleared path.

But there was something off about it - there was no one out on the streets. Not a single door was open - and no houses were lit up - every single window was shuttered tight. Even though it was a little past eight at night, there should have been _someone_ there.

The whole town was eerily quiet.

Fox tilted his head back and forth, trying to get a sense of what was going on around him, shifting into a defensive stance subconsciously as he did.

One of Velvet's ears fell back as she looked around. "Something's wrong."

Coco nodded, both her and Yatsuhashi dropping the leads they carried for the horses in favor of reaching for their weapons.

The town was panicking, and none of them could figure out _why_.

There were many different forms of panic - the most commonly depicted in the media was people running through the streets, screaming. It made for a good visual in hunter vs. grimm movies, however it wasn't the most common - people tended to know better than to do that _because_ of its use as a plot device.

Instead people shuttered their doors and quietly panicked inside their own homes, pretending that they weren't - denying that they had any sort of negative emotion that could attract the grimm.

It was far more dangerous, because often people wouldn't call for help until it was too late to do anything about it.

At least they were there now, ready to fight. It wasn't too late.

A single figure emerged from the guard tower near the gate entrance, a weathered huntsmen wearing a deep rose-colored shirt and black pants. "Team CFVY? From Beacon? I'm Thulian - I sent out the request for help," he said as he approached.

"That's us. I'm Coco." Coco nodded to each of her teammates in turn. "Fox, Velvet and Yatsuhashi." She relaxed incrementally with Thulian there - leader or not, it was good to have experienced backup.

"Glad you're here. As you can see, the situation has deteriorated since I first put up the ad asking for backup." He gestured to the closed off buildings. "Let's get to the inn, we can unload the horses there and I'll get you up to speed."

* * *

Their information had been accurate; there hadn't been an attack, it was simply the landslide causing an increase of tensions.

"The mine is shut down, essentially, until we can dig out the road. We were just about to send out a big shipment of dust - we have no more storage space, and until we get it cleared most of the town can't work." He rolled his shoulders, half shrugging and half trying to relax. "It's being cleared as quick as we can, but the rocks aren't easy to move and the Schnee Dust Company is stalling on letting us use some of the mining equipment to help the process go more quickly."

He let out a long sigh. "I'm hoping we make some real progress this week. This town has been around for nearly five years now and there's plenty of dust and natural fortifications to keep us here another ten if we make it through this rough patch. I know that this isn't really what you signed on for, but if you could stay a couple extra days and help make sure we're not going to get hit by bandits - or, with this panic, grimm - I'd really appreciate it."

Coco barely spared a glance at her teammates - they were already nodding just like she knew they would be - before agreeing. "I need to call our supervising professor, make sure he's aware of the situation, but we had discussed the possibility of staying a few extra days if needed."

Thulian nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Why don't you go on up to your rooms, unpack, give him a call and then I'll give you the grand tour. If you hear any screaming…"

"We'll come right down. Thanks, Thulian."

The four of them trudged upstairs. They had just the one room with two beds, but it'd be plenty of space for the four of them. Luckily, they were long enough that even Yatsuhashi and Velvet wouldn't have any issues fitting in them comfortably.

"So…" Coco started, looking at the two beds.

"Might as well just sleep in partner pairs," Velvet said. "Unless you're uncomfortable with that."

"That works just fine, not anything I haven't done before with Fox."

His face flushed a dark red, but he didn't say anything to contradict the assertion.

Coco dumped her pack on their bed and then pulled out her scroll. The signal wasn't the greatest, even with the communications array, but that was to be expected. Anywhere outside the main cities had spotty service at best.

There was just enough of one that if she stood in the far corner of the room she was able to call out to Professor Port and talk with him briefly about what was going on.

Since they had discussed staying longer from the start, he easily gave his blessing. "Call me on Saturday to check in. That should give you plenty of time, plan on being picked up Monday, though! We can't have you missing too much school."

The signal was wobbly and his voice kept cutting in and out, but he was understandable. "Sounds like a plan, professor. We'll talk to you soon." She slid her scroll into her pocket and shifted her purse slightly so it was sitting more securely on her shoulder. Her teammates had already dropped what they didn't need and were adjusting their weapons as well. "Let's go tell Thulian we're sticking around for a little longer."

* * *

He wasn't able to completely stifle the relieved sigh when Coco told him they were staying. "Thank you. I know this isn't really what you signed up for, but it may make a huge difference." He looked over the four of them. "So what are your weapons?" Thulian asked, pointing to Coco and Velvet in turn. "I take it your bags pack a little more punch than they seem."

Velvet looked over to Coco, trying to decide if she should pull a weapon and demonstrate or simply describe hers.

"It's a collapsable gatling gun," Coco said, shrugging one shoulder. "The bag is heavy enough and durable enough to double as a melee weapon."

Thulian raised an eyebrow, but nodded. It would have been easier to simply show him, but it would set an awkward precedent for Velvet.

"I can replicate weapons," she said, pulling out her camera. "I take a photo and get a hard-light replica I can use to fight. It works with my semblance." She nodded at Thulian's bracers. "May I?"

They were simple enough, but had blades coming off either side, as well as some sort barrel on either for ranged. Coco tried not to glare at him while he mulled it over before nodding his consent.

Once Velvet had stowed her camera again, Thulian turned to Yatsuhashi. "Do you have a ranged weapon?"

Yatsu cocked his head. Some would consider the sword that was nearly as long as Coco was tall a 'ranged' weapon, but he didn't have one otherwise, so he simply shook his head.

"Right. Let's go outside, I'll show you what's where as best I can."

The first thing he pointed out when they walked outside the inn was the large tower near the gate he'd emerged from when they first approached. "We have people take shifts on watch up there. There's a siren in the event of a grimm or bandit attack." He let out a snort. "We'll be able to rest at night at least."

It was definitely one of the benefits of working in a town directly and helping with its defense - there were more people to share the workload.

"The communications array is on top of it too - we don't have a great signal out here even when it's working, and it goes down frequently."

Coco smiled when she heard Velvet start describing the layout of the city for Fox in hushed tones so as to not interrupt Thulian.

"Blacksmith - should be more than willing to let you peruse their selection of weapons and take photos for Velvet's as well as most basic maintenance." He gestured to the building next to it. "Pharmacy, doctor - if you're injured or sick go there. They'll be able to fix what ails you. Dust shop next to that, though only your basic stuff can be found there. Schnee doesn't see a need to keep it well-stocked." He let out a derisive snort.

"We keep the main gate shut and barred at night once the sun goes down - too many bandits in the area to risk leaving it open for anyone to waltz on through." They walked on through the darkened streets - mostly houses, the village couldn't be much larger than 200 people. "Mountain itself keeps us safe for the most part," he added, gesturing up to the sheer cliffs.

It was extensive protections for a town so far outside the kingdoms, but it was what was keeping it going. Without such defenses, it would have likely failed many years prior.

Add in a huntsman to the town and the place was pretty much set as long as people kept their cool.

The five of them made their way back to the inn with that thought looming over their heads.

They had to keep their cool - because no matter how many fortifications there were, if something big hit there would be no saving the town.

* * *

The next day was relatively quiet - they got to know some of the people around town and met Mayor Azure, who a mild-mannered politician who had mostly been involved with the mining aspects of village, leaving the protection and fortifications in Thulian's capable hands.

No one batted an eye at the team - most were relieved to see that they were there at all - however, there was still a wariness in everyone's stance. No one's smile was quite bright enough, no one's children came out to say hello.

They took what victories they could - at least they weren't _adding_ to the tensions simply by being there.

The people of Botan were scared - and they had every right to be. Even with five hunters in town, there was so much that could go wrong. So many towns had risen and fallen throughout the years, the loss of one didn't even make the news anymore.

Botan was an outlier for its persistence.

The first night was easy enough to crash in their room and fall asleep as if the four of them didn't have a care in the world, but when the next day came and went without a single grimm sighting, they became restless.

They tried to pretend they weren't anxious - even as well-equipped as they were to take on the grimm, it was nerve wracking to simply _wait_. They wanted to go out and hunt the grimm - but that wouldn't help, not with hundreds of square miles of wilderness around them. There was no telling where the grimm would come from - or from how far away.

When they got ready for bed that night, they did so in almost complete silence as they moved around the small space.

When the siren went off several hours later, alerting them to a problem, they were all on their feet in seconds, none of them looking like they had gotten much - if any - sleep.

It took Yatsuhashi all of two minutes to get dressed, scrambling to arm himself. They all tripped over one another here and there as they tried to find their things - carefully laid out the night before, but no one was quite awake yet and they didn't want to turn on the lights and ruin what little night vision Coco and Yatsuhashi had.

"Velvet - you and Yatsu stick together," Coco said as they made their way outside. She fell into leader-mode quickly, even though she usually didn't do mornings.

The four of them wouldn't split up unless it was strictly necessary, but it was good to have a plan in place. Shit happened, especially on missions like this.

The town was no longer the quiet ghost town they had seen for the last two days - a small group of maybe twenty people of all ages and genders had come out of their homes at the sound of the siren.

But when they climbed the wall to figure out what was going on, it wasn't the grimm attack they had been preparing for - it was a group of bandits.

They weren't common up here in the far reaches of the mountains, but apparently the promise of full dust stores and the landside preventing Botan from getting reinforcements meant it was a tempting target for those who were desperate enough to resort to thievery.

But it also meant that the struggle with negative emotions and grimm was far from over. Yatsuhashi could just make out the falling faces in the small crowd as they realized this wasn't the grimm battle they were prepared for - fighting humans was a different ballgame.

For one, it was far more difficult - aura and armor as well as more advanced tactics made it a bigger challenge than even a greater number of grimm. It was also messier. With grimm, the bodies vanished on their own and cleanup was restricted to damaged buildings and fortifications.

With humans, you had to face the bleak realities of bodies and blood.

There was a reason bandits usually heralded a grimm attack.

The four of them shifted uneasily - while they _could_ fight the bandits, it wasn't what they had been expecting, and would almost certainly keep them here longer than they'd originally planned.

But they couldn't think about that - the focus had to be on the current happenings; there would be time enough later to prepare for grimm.

Team CFVY and Thulian leapt off the town's front wall to engage in close quarters, a couple of the villagers following, though the majority of them stayed where they could shoot without much risk to themselves.

Yatsuhashi tried not to think too hard on it - sure, some bandits were people just at the end of their rope with nowhere to go, but many were hit and run thieves, those who lived their entire lives stealing from the handful of towns that managed to survive outside the kingdoms' walls and made a career out of it, not caring about the ruined lives they left behind. It was easier to think of the lives that would be saved.

At least, that's what he told himself as he unstrapped his sword from his back.

It was the first time he'd had to use his skill on humans outside of a friendly sparring match, and as he waded into the fray, he pointedly ignored the shattering auras around him.

He wanted to beg them to stop fighting, but he knew they wouldn't, so he didn't waste his breath.

It wasn't even that big of a band - fifteen, twenty at most, but they were armed to the teeth and were more than prepared to fight. It seemed odd that such a small group would try to take on the heavily-fortified town, but that was a problem for a different day.

One managed to get a shot in, clipping Yatsuhashi's arm and he swung around, grabbing the bandit by the face and throwing them across the battlefield.

Another approached, this one wielding some sort of polearm, at which point the fight was on.

He was able to mostly keep the weapon off him, but he struggled to close the distance between them as neither weapon lended itself well to close entanglements.

Switching to a one-handed grip, he pushed the haft of the weapon away from him.

A shot rang out, causing him to pull back and reevaluate as a second bandit came in close - drawing his attention away from the first.

He could handle it - it'd just be a bit of a challenge.

And he did love a challenge.

* * *

Shortly after they'd engaged the group, an explosion shook the walls at their back, echoing through the entire town. Velvet's ears laid flat at the pain from the sound - she looked over her shoulder to see that the tower seemed to be on fire. While they had been focused on the majority of the bandits, a small group of them had slipped around and laid dust charges at the base of the wall and were now firing repeatedly on the watchtower.

"Coco!" she shouted, gesturing behind them. Her leader let out a curse - they needed to preserve it to be able to spot any incoming grimm in the next couple of days.

Thulian ran back into the city, already bleeding from several wounds. The townsfolk were working hard to douse the fire around the newly-formed hole, but it looked like a bandit had slipped through the opening and so Thulian went off to track them down, as well as deal with the tower.

As for the rest - they were slowly retreating, pulling back and disappearing into the forest. More than half were dead or too injured to move.

Velvet grabbed one of the villagers who was about to chase them down and finish them off - Botan had also suffered several losses and people were understandably looking for revenge.

There was no point in killing them - it would just mean more bodies to bury and it wouldn't dissuade them from returning if they really meant to hit the town again.

"Don't," she said, emphasizing her point. "The sun is almost up and we're going to have a long day ahead of us.

Cleanup was going to be brutal - fixing the tower and the wall would have been bad enough, but there was now a ticking clock looming over the town.

There'd be a grimm attack, likely within the week. Fortifications would have to be repaired before then.

Perhaps that was part of why the bandits had run - leave and then come back after the grimm had softened up the town.

Velvet looked around the battlefield, grateful to see each of her teammates still standing.

She was closest to Fox, so she went to him first - a couple of minor scratches but nothing major.

"I'm fine, Velvs," he said when she gave him a hug. "What about you?"

A loud crash - like a collapsing building - made them jump and they all rushed towards the sound.

"Shit," Coco said.

The watchtower was covered in scorch marks and had several holes blasted into it, the top several levels had collapsed onto one another, taking the communications array with it.

Mayor Azure approached the group, lips pressed into a thin line. They were carrying a shotgun in their hands. "Thulian had run up there to see how damaged everything was before it collapsed, but I don't know how safe it is to go in there."

The building creaked ominously at their words, shuddering in the light breeze that had picked up before the bottom levels gave out with another deafening crash.

Coco looked at the mayor, whose eyes had gone wide with shock. There was no way someone could have survived that, and they were now cut off completely from the rest of the world.

Now that the fight was almost over, Coco could see what they had actually planned - take out Botan's tower, let grimm destroy the village, and then come in and make off with the unguarded dust stores.

It was a good plan, she had to admit. One that was now up to the four of them to try and stop.

* * *

 **AN:** As a reminder, you can always find me on Tumblr (MaryKay91 or lydiarogue) or Reddit (lydia_rogue) to find out the status of updates, ask questions or send prompts! I love hearing from y'all.

Edited to say: I have gone through and made the required changes to bring this into compliance with the end of volume 4. If you got emails saying there were a bunch of updates I'm sorry, that's all it was.


	9. Chapter 9

**AN** :In case you missed it: Haven's headmaster is now edited to refer to him as professor Lionheart exclusively.

Additionally, I've added an outtake to _Espresso Shots_ that is Fox's POV for his sparring match with Velvet from Chapter 2. Enjoy!

* * *

When the sun rose that morning, it was to a somber group of workers just outside the town's walls, burying the dead and trying to repair the damage to their defenses. In addition to Thulian, three of the other villagers had been killed in the attack, as well as a half-dozen bandits.

Coco quietly looked over the bodies of the bandits, assessing the damage and _how_ they'd died. She didn't say anything, and the rest of the team didn't ask - no one really wanted to know for certain if they'd killed one of their fellow humans.

The tension had bled out of the town, giving way to the air of inevitability. Grimm were coming, and soon.

Azure pulled the four of them aside shortly after the burials. Even though they were out of earshot of the other villagers milling about, it felt like everyone in the vicinity was staring at them, waiting to see what they'd say.

"How long can you stay?" Azure's face was pinched with worry. It wasn't easy to ask the team to remain in town, but they didn't have another choice either. It was their responsibility to protect Botan and Coco understood the dilemma.

Technically, the team should be leaving on Saturday - in two days. Any later than that and they wouldn't make the pickup time on Monday that Professor Port had set.

But there was no way they could leave the town the way it was, unprotected and cut off from anyone who could help - that was no way for hunters in training to act. They were here to protect the people of Botan, not leave them to die.

"We'll stay as long as we're needed," Coco said without a second of hesitation. "I'm going to try and get away tomorrow, get in a call to our supervising professor and let him know what happened, but only if it's safe."

If they completely missed the check-in, he'd come out with reinforcements to find out what had happened. She hoped it wouldn't be that bad - while there was no hope of actually leaving in time to make the rendezvous on Monday, she hoped they'd be able to get a hold of the school before then and reassure Professor Port they were okay.

If not, there were plans in place. It wouldn't be the first - or last - time a team had gone dark while on an away mission. Coco was just determined not to see team CFVY's names added to the memorial wall of students who never lived to see graduation.

"Of course. I'm going to tell the townspeople; they deserve to know - and I hope that it might help ease some of the growing tension."

There was no hope of completely avoiding the panic and despair that came after a bandit attack - especially when the town was already stressed, but any amount of hope was welcome in times like this.

Coco grabbed Azure's shoulder before they walked away, getting their attention. "This is a tactic we've heard of before. Cut off the town from outside contact and then wait - the grimm come in, destroy the town and then disperse and the bandits can clean up the loot."

They nodded, lips pressed into a tight line. "I know." It was common outside the kingdom walls because it worked so well.

Coco caught the tiniest flash of fear in their eyes before they turned away.

* * *

While getting ahold of Beacon was high priority for the team, restoring communications was low priority for Botan, far below repairing the watchtower and protective wall.

While it made perfect sense, it also meant that Coco was going to have to head far enough down the mountain to pick up a signal again in order to contact Professor Port. On the hike she figured she'd also scout out any potential nests or grimm movement that could give them a hint as to when to expect an attack.

"Velvet, I'm leaving you in charge while Fox and I go and try to get in touch with the professor."

Coco's teammate startled at that - looking at her with wide eyes. "Are - are you sure?"

"Velvs, you've got this, it'll just be a few hours." Coco smiled at her teammate, trying to alleviate her fears. None of them had signed up for the mission they were currently facing. "We've just got to get far enough south of here to get a signal. You and Yatsuhashi will be more than capable of holding down the fort here."

Velvet nodded, shifting uncomfortably. "Right, of course."

Coco gave her a quick hug before she and Fox left - she had complete confidence in Velvet's ability to handle whatever the town threw at her.

It honestly wasn't that far of a walk - once they'd made their way about three miles down the mountain they started to get a signal on their scrolls.

Even though they gave it another mile before trying to place the call, the reception was horrific, signal barely getting through at all. It was just stable enough to not drop the call, thankfully, and Coco tried to explain what happened.

The burst of static in her ear made Coco flinch. "Professor, can you hear me? I said Thulian died in the last attack. I think we can handle it but I wanted you to know."

Another long hiss, through which she could make out " - fine. Check… Monday 2 p.m."

"Understood, professor." Coco sighed when she hung up her scroll. She was certain that the four of them could handle it, but she was equally certain that Professor Port had been unable to hear her - he likely didn't realize their contact had been killed.

Second-year missions didn't _require_ a more experienced hunter to be along, not like the first-year missions, but it was recommended, particularly for situations far outside the kingdom's walls.

She wrapped an arm around Fox's waist, indulging in a momentary hug before pulling away. "Port says to check in again on Monday. I - I don't know that he heard that Thulian was killed in the bandit attack." She started to drum her fingers on her purse. "I don't know if his answer would have been different if he'd have known."

Fox cocked his head. "Do you want to go further down the road? See if we can get a better signal and call him back?"

She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment before shaking her head. "No - we can handle this. We know what to expect - grimm, then another batch of bandits."

At least, that's what she was hoping. But either way, she wasn't about to abandon the town, and neither were her teammates, and she didn't think the villagers would leave when there was still a chance of saving the town.

Their worries about grimm and bandits weren't even taking into account the natural hazards of the area. While the village was in a stable place, they _had_ originally come out in response to a landslide.

"Right, shouldn't be too difficult," Fox said quietly, turning back towards the village.

She knew him well enough - and his history well enough to know that the bandits bothered him. Leaning in to kiss his cheek, she said, "I wasn't expecting - "

He shook his head. "Neither was I. I'll be okay, though." Fox managed a small smile. "I'm not ten anymore."

"Right." She gave him another hug, this time holding him tightly for a moment before pulling away. "Come on, let's head back."

They walked in silence for a while, Fox slipping his hand into Coco's despite the fact his weapon made it difficult.

"Do you think we'll actually make it back in time for the dance?" he asked without preamble. The area they were traversing was relatively safe from random grimm encounters and so they didn't have to be stealthy.

"It's hard to tell," Coco admitted with a small shrug. "I would love to, but I'm not sure we will." They couldn't leave the town unprotected - that was their main objective - and even if they got backup to leave on Monday, it would take most of the rest of the week for them to arrive and then for the team to hike back out, getting them back on late Saturday or early Sunday - and that was if they didn't experience _any_ further delays. "Why?" she asked, curious. He hadn't really expressed more than a passing interest in the dance before now.

He shrugged. "Was looking forward to going with you. And - well, to asking Velvet and Yatsu, too."

Oh - she hadn't thought about that.

"We'll figure something out," she promised him. "Even if we don't get to go to the dance with them - we'll ask them some other time."

She was glad he'd brought it up - she'd been a little worried he wasn't as open to the idea as he'd originally said, but the fact he'd brought it up first made her happy.

But for right now, she needed to focus on the mission ahead. There would be time to think about their relationship later.

* * *

"Miss Scarlatina?"

Velvet smiled at the man, nose twitching with amusement when she saw he was old enough to be her father. She recognized him from earlier, one of the members of the cleanup crew she'd been helping. "Is there something you needed?" she asked.

"It's our girl - Beryl. She didn't come home from school yet and we've been trying to find her, but her teacher said she left with everyone else an hour ago." Lorn hugged himself, brow furrowing with worry. "She's never done something like this before."

Velvet's amusement faded quickly - a kid had gone missing on her watch. "Don't worry," she said automatically, trying to manage a proper smile again. "We'll find her. Keep looking here in town and my partner and I will scout around outside."

"She wouldn't have gone outside the walls, she knows better than that," Lorn said immediately, but there was a note of uncertainty to his voice.

"We'll check anyway, just in case," Velvet promised. "How old is she?"

"She's only seven. Thank you." Lorn let out a sigh of relief. "I'll go let my wife know. She'll be so grateful. Thank you."

There hadn't been an alarm raised, so Beryl had likely just wandered off, possibly gotten turned around. It was unlikely there were any grimm or bandits in the immediate area, which was a relief.

Even though Beryl wouldn't normally leave town, it wasn't a usual day. A large hole in the wall meant there was more opportunity to get out - even, perhaps, unintentionally - if you were a curious child who would have otherwise known better.

As soon as Lorn was gone, Velvet took a deep breath to suppress her panic. These people were _counting_ on her and one of the kids had gone missing - she should have had more people watching the repairs, keeping an eye out for children…

Yatsuhashi put a hand on her shoulder. "Velvs? Are you all right?"

She shook her head. "We need to try and find Beryl," she said. It was true, even if it was skirting around the bigger issue.

What had she been thinking, accepting Coco's offer as second?

She hadn't really been expecting to have to do anything with it - just a formality on paper. She'd been lulled into a false sense of security by her new team, but she knew she wasn't cut out for this sort of work.

She knew that and she'd tried to do it anyway.

She just hoped Coco wouldn't be too mad when she got back.

Velvet swallowed down her panic and continued to help look for the missing girl.

* * *

Beryl hadn't gotten very far. She'd been chasing a butterfly and hadn't realized she'd walked outside the gate, and then when she discovered she was in the tree line, she had proceeded to panic.

She threw herself into Yatsuhashi's arms, sobbing, the moment she saw them. "You found me," she said between hiccuping breaths.

"Of course we did," he said, rubbing her back. "Come on, your parents are worried, let's get you home."

She looked up at him, big green eyes filled with tears. "They're not mad?"

"Nope," he reassured her. "They're worried about you, but they're not upset."

Velvet kept an eye on their backs as they made their way back into town, much to the relief of Beryl's worried parents, who thanked them both profusely.

As soon as they were alone again, everything about Velvet's posture simply _collapsed_ , like she could barely stand up straight.

Yatsuhashi pulled her into a tight hug, gently rubbing her back. "Velvs?" he asked, unsure what was wrong.

"I'm not cut out for this," Velvet muttered into Yatsuhashi's shoulder. "You should be in charge."

Yatsuhashi frowned. He really didn't want that type of responsibility, and really, Velvet had proven herself time and time again to be more than competent. "Coco chose you for a reason, Velvs," he reassured her, rubbing her back gently.

"I know she did - and I know why. But it was a bad reason." She took a deep, shuddering breath. "I don't want this sort of responsibility again."

"You did fine, but if you asked, I'm sure Coco would understand. She's not going to push you to do something you're uncomfortable with."

Velvet nodded against his shoulder. "Can - can we not talk about it right now? I just - " She swallowed hard. "It's reminding me of Haven."

Yatsu wasn't quite sure how the two were related, but he was more than willing to drop the subject.

"Are you looking forward to the dance?" he asked, voicing the first thing he thought of that wasn't related to their current situation.

Velvet's next breath trembled less and she nodded. "Coco helped me pick out a really nice dress. Suggested we should switch partners for at least one song."

He let out a pleased hum. "We never did finish talking about those two."

She blushed a deep red. "Is there something we needed to talk about?" she asked, almost sulkily. "Just - just 'cause I like them doesn't mean we have to do anything."

"No, but if something did happen, I wouldn't object," he said, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"I wouldn't either," Velvet admitted. "But… only them? I don't know how I feel about other people just yet."

Yatsuhashi nodded. "Seems fair. Fox and Coco are special."

She smiled, looking up at him. "They are, aren't they?"

* * *

After Coco got back with Fox that evening, Velvet pulled her aside to talk. She couldn't put off the conversation - not when it felt like so much was at stake.

Yatsuhashi had managed to explain what had happened with Beryl, but Velvet knew he had been too kind and had left out her panicked reaction, and so she needed to talk to Coco about not taking on this level of responsibility again.

She hadn't gotten more than a couple halting words out when Coco grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Neither of us signed up for this," she said. "It was supposed to be a cakewalk. But Velvs, listen, I _still_ would have chosen you, even if I knew it was going to be this hard."

"But Coco, I panicked, and a kid went missing," Velvet pointed out. She'd _failed_.

Coco frowned. "But you kept a cool head and you managed to find Beryl and get her back to her parents. It's okay that it was stressful."

"I just - I don't want to do this _again_ ," Velvet lamented, looking down at the floor.

Coco's brow furrowed. "That's fine, but Velvs, Velvet, I trust you with this. You've more than earned - "

Ripping her hand back, Velvet all but snarled at Coco, angry tears welling up in her eyes. "No! I haven't! And I don't need your _pity_ \- any more than I needed Professor Lionheart's! I don't want this, Coco! I've _never_ wanted this."

She turned and stalked out of the room, leaving a bewildered Coco staring at the door that had been slammed shut in her face.

* * *

The fight had been nearly impossible to not overhear. He hadn't made out the exact words, beyond a couple here and there, but when he heard a door slam shut and one of his teammates stalk out of the building, he followed, expecting to find his partner.

"Coco?" he called, following her down an alley.

But it wasn't her who let out a snort. "Wrong teammate," Velvet said as she slid down to sit with her back against a wall.

He startled slightly - he wasn't aware Velvet had such a temper - but sat down next to her regardless. He could be here for her just as easily as he could for Coco. "Hey, Velvs. Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

He nodded in understanding and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, smiling when she leaned in to his embrace. "Can I tell you a story instead?"

"Sure?" she asked, sounding a little confused.

"Coco and I met when we were about seven years old, and we became really fast friends. We were inseparable by the end of the year - always at the other's house, always partnered up for projects." He let out a chuckle. "Even the teachers would pair us up because it was easier than letting us sulk. When - " he paused and took a deep breath. This part never got easier. "I lost my parents when I was ten. She convinced her mom to take me in to live with them. We got into a huge fight over it - I didn't want her pity."

Velvet flinched slightly at his choice of words.

"It wasn't out of pity. She genuinely wanted me to be part of her family. It took me a long time to realize that. Coco does a lot of things, but she doesn't ever do something just because she pities someone. It's because she actually wants them there." He rubbed her shoulder. "She doesn't pity people - she just wants to help them."

Velvet rested her head on his shoulder. "It was a dumb thing to say."

Fox hummed. "You're hurting and didn't know. Knowing her she was probably being stubborn, which didn't help matters. I know her, she's not going to push if you're firm with her."

She nodded, head moving across his shoulder. "Okay. I'll tell her, I just - I'm not ready to take on leadership responsibilities again."

"That's fine, you don't ever have to be ready. Gods know I don't want to shoulder that kind of responsibility."

She hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe eventually, but not yet," she said after a long moment.

He pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head, nose twitching when he brushed against her rabbit ears, and she giggled. "Should we go back?" he asked. "She's not going to be upset, just a little concerned."

Velvet sighed and nodded. "Probably."

"Not just probably," he promised, standing and offering her a hand up.

* * *

Coco looked up when Fox and Velvet walked in, smiling when she noticed they were holding hands. She'd almost followed Velvet out the door when she'd stormed off, but Yatsuhashi had come in to talk her down instead when he saw Fox going after Velvet.

"I'm sorry, Coco," Velvet said, voice small. "I don't - I know it's what you think is best, but I just can't handle it. I can't handle the pressure."

Coco stood and wrapped her arms around Velvet in a tight hug. "I'm sorry too - I should have done something else when you were uncomfortable during the meeting with Port. There's nothing wrong with not wanting to do this."

Velvet hugged her back. "I said it was okay, remember? I'm fine, I can handle it this time, but next time - "

"Yatsu will be my second," Coco finished, nodding. "Not a problem."

Coco didn't know what had caused the original outburst - Velvet had mentioned what had happened with the kid, but it seemed like there was something more going on than just that. She idly twirled a lock of hair around her finger. Had something happened at Haven that Velvet wasn't mentioning?

It was something to consider for another day - she adored Yatsuhashi, but Velvet really had a better head for this sort of thing.

She was glad Velvet had agreed to tough it out as best she could for the remainder of the mission - they'd need every advantage they could get to make it through this.

* * *

Hello past trauma raising its ugly head. You didn't think I would completely ignore what happened at Haven, did you?

(I would love to hear theories about what happened if you have any.)

Anyway, this mission was only supposed to last like… a chapter and a half. Whoops. We're now at two full chapters and still the better part of a week to go. (Next chapter will absolutely be the last)

Find me on Tumblr at MaryKay91 or LydiaRogue.


	10. Chapter 10

**AN:** ...Hi. I know it's been a while, so first, thank you so much for sticking with it.

My life kinda caught on fire (metaphorically) there for a few months and it took a long time to sort everything out. I've been slowly working on writing again, and fanfiction is part of that, but there was a good two months there I didn't write anything at all so please be patient.

Honestly, for all of the metaphorical fires, I think my life would have been more stable if they had been literal fires, no joke.

Some housekeeping notes:

During my hiatus, I noticed a spike in comments where people were being bigoted towards polyamorous people, sometimes outright admitting they're prejudiced against them. Comments like that will be deleted without further discussion. Bigotry of _any_ type isn't welcome in my comments section - doubly so since I have two boyfriends and a girlfriend. If polyamory isn't your cup of tea, there are plenty of other stories you can enjoy.

I also started writing guides on writing polyamory in case you want to learn more about it - and have another in the works. Check my Tumblr (LydiaRogue)!

* * *

The next morning was bleak and gray, seeming to reflect the mood of the town as they got to work on the repairs. It was only a matter of time before the grimm showed up and so they worked to get things done as quickly as they could to bolster their defenses.

When the grimm did arrive, luck was on their side. There weren't nearly as many creatures as they'd feared - and what did come meant that the wall wouldn't have mattered much anyway.

A flock of griffons, a pack of beowolves and a couple of beringels. The dozen or so creeps that seemed to lurk around the edges of the town no matter what they did.

A family of nevermore.

While they hadn't finished the wall repairs completely, it didn't actually matter. The bulk of the attack came from above anyway, which Coco had a handle on with the occasional help from Velvet.

Fox focused on the grimm on the ground - doing his best to keep track of his teammates and the townsfolk who had joined in on the fight.

At least the grimm didn't come with the guilt that accompanied fighting humans, and he could drive his blades into their bodies with impunity.

He just had to keep his focus and try to keep them out of the center of town - and, hopefully, away from the civilians.

Focusing his aura around his fist, he slammed it into a beowolf's face. It was a devastating attack - he just hoped there wasn't enough armor on it to cause more injuries than it would have otherwise.

He heard a couple of spikes clatter against armor, but it didn't seem to cause any damage to his fellow fighters. Beyond that, he ended up focusing on Velvet - she was a fantastic point of brightness that helped him navigate the messy battlefield.

Her aura had shifted - it wasn't one he was familiar with, but then again, he wasn't sure what his own aura felt like. Her fighting style _was_ familiar - it made the back and forth between them seamless as they fought through wave after wave of grimm.

The first group may have seemed small, but they kept coming - seemingly a never-ending onslaught coming out of the woods.

He was grateful to not be the only one holding them back - Yatsuhashi and the fighters from Botan were right beside him, holding back the waves.

Eventually they petered out, slowing down to a trickle. Fox had lost track of time somewhere in there, along with most of his aura. He was bleeding sluggishly from a few wounds, but nothing too concerning.

There was additional damage to buildings and the exterior wall - they hadn't been able to keep them completely out of the town - but they had managed to mitigate the damage.

Coco slipped her arm around his waist and kissed his cheek. "You did good, Fox."

"So did you." Her gun had been nearly constantly running during the battle, keeping the skies clear for the rest of them.

They'd survived and gotten through the worst of it - there was still work to be done, but it would be easier from here on out.

* * *

Against all odds, the array itself had managed to survive undamaged. While the tower was still being rebuilt, they were able to mount it on the second tallest building in Botan and boost the signal back to nearly pre-attack levels.

Coco stayed on top of the building, perched on the edge to call the school, taking a moment to simply _breathe_ while she sat there, listening to her scroll connect.

"Good heavens!" was the first thing Professor Port said when Coco explained that Thulian had been killed in the first bandit attack. "I must apologize, I didn't hear you say that. I'll put out another request with more urgency this time, hopefully someone will respond quickly. How are you four faring?"

She looked down at her exhausted, but unharmed teammates. "We're tired, but it's worked out," she said, a hint of pride slipping into her voice. This was not what second years were supposed to be facing, and yet they'd managed to hold down the fort with minimal casualties. "We can keep it together here until backup arrives. We don't want to leave the town unguarded and they'll need help for longer than we can provide."

One hunter would be plenty as long as the four of them were able to repel any intermediate attacks.

"Of course. I'll message you with the details as soon as I know more - and don't hesitate to get the town to evacuate if you think it's unsafe for them to stay."

Coco sighed. "I'll do my best, but they're stubborn. I don't think I'll get them to leave lightly."

It'd become obvious the townsfolk wouldn't leave unless there was no other choice - and by then it could very well be too late for them.

(She also doubted their ability to safely escort two hundred people to safety through no small amount of grimm-infested forest, but that was a different matter entirely.)

"Of course not. I'll leave you to the cleanup efforts, unless you think you need me to come out there as well."

She smiled at the thought. "No, professor, I think we'll get through just fine. We will likely need more medical supplies and food, though, so the hunter won't be able to just drop in."

It would have been nice to have them simply drop in - and they could have, if they weren't already running low on supplies again. ("Low" was probably being harsh, but they'd burned through a lot more than they'd expected to already.)

"Of course. Stay vigilant!" he said with a final chuckle before hanging up.

She slipped off the building, landing with practiced grace next to her team.

"Well, that wasn't so bad," she said to her teammates. "The plan is for him to get us proper backup and then we'll make our way back to Beacon once they arrive."

"Sounds perfect," Yatsuhashi said, stretching.

Coco pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes. It'd been a very long week - and it wasn't over yet.

* * *

They didn't have to wait long to hear from Professor Port that they had backup incoming.

The news was greeted by cheers from the townsfolk - while they were welcoming of the team, they knew the four of them would have to go back to the school eventually and were far from a permanent solution. (Mayor Azure had also thanked them personally for sticking through the attacks - it hadn't been part of the original plan and they were missing a lot more school than they'd originally intended, but it was something they could work with.)

But the day Coral was supposed to arrive came and went - along with the secondary bandit attack.

Their luck held out - when the small group of bandits saw that the town was still standing and was ready to fight back, they turned tail and ran.

It wasn't until the middle of the next day she arrived, looking exhausted.

Coral sighed as she handed off the horses' reins to townsfolk. "The road was even more badly damaged," she said to Coco as way of explanation for her tardiness. "We couldn't set down at the normal spot - the bullhead is waiting for you all further out. I'll send you the directions."

"It's fine, we're just grateful you're here now," Coco said, whole body sagging with relief, grateful to see any kind of backup. "The worst is over, but they'll feel better with someone else here."

They weren't expecting any more attacks, but with the road still out, it would be good to have backup. The anxiety and fear that had started the whole mess wasn't going to disappear just because they'd survived one grimm attack.

But that was officially no longer team CFVY's headache - they were heading back home come morning and wouldn't have to worry about it again.

* * *

The journey back was remarkably uneventful - with all the delays they were pleased to have the final leg go smoothly, leaving them to curl up together on the airship during the final part of the trip.

Velvet suppressed a sigh when one of their classmates announced their return. While it was nice to have been missed, the four of them were exhausted and weren't up for a lengthy interrogation over what had happened.

But when Blake approached, she couldn't ignore an old family friend.

"Velvet? Are you okay?"

Velvet managed a smile. "I'm fine. I had Yatsuhashi to look out for me," she said pointing behind her to her partner. Right now she wanted nothing more than to crash into bed with him and sleep for a week.

"Your mission was supposed to end a _week_ ago! What happened?"

"Nothing happened. It was just… there were just so many of them." Velvet blinked and noticed that the rest of Blake's teammates were clearly prepared to head out on _their_ mission. "Oh! But don't worry. You first-years are just shadowing huntsmen, so you should be fine."

"Right…" Blake's blonde teammate said.

Velvet looked over to where her own team was stopped, looking at her as if to ask what the holdup was. "I should go. Be safe, okay?" she said with a small wave, then walked off towards Yatsuhashi, who wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Friend of yours?" he asked quietly.

Velvet wrapped her own arm around his waist. "We know each other from Oobleck's class, I think they were worried." It was as much of the truth as she could share, since Blake wasn't open about her faunus heritage. Velvet couldn't blame her - not after everything she'd been through her first year.

Fox smiled. "I don't know why. We can clearly handle anything these missions throw at us."

Velvet shrugged, wishing she could tell them she and Blake went back. "Still disappeared for a week longer than we were supposed to, and they were heading out on their own mission."

"Just as long as the four of us can go and get some proper sleep," Coco said, stretching. "What do you say to just going back to the dorm and crashing, putting our weapons away in the lockers later?"

The other three voiced their agreement - they all just wanted to clean up and relax.

Yatsuhashi and Coco went first in the shower - they took less time than their partners and so it simply made sense.

Sitting down on his bed, Yatsuhashi regarded Coco, who had already changed into her sleepwear. "Velvet said you wanted to switch partners for at least one dance, if we'd made it." He wasn't one to beat around the bush when he had something on his mind.

Coco sat down next to him, running a comb through her hair. She always looked so vulnerable without her customary beret and sunglasses. "It was a thought." She tossed the comb onto her desk. "You seem like a good dancer."

He raised an eyebrow. "Not Velvet?"

Coco moved closer, pressing up against Yatsu's side. "Her too, but…" She glanced to the closed bathroom door. "I don't know what's going on there."

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I don't know either," he admitted. "Something to do with Haven, I think. She's not ready to talk about it, but I mean, she's admitted to it, which is more than I knew two weeks ago."

Coco nodded, turning towards him. "She's never talked about anything that happened to me. Has she talked about it with you?"

He shook his head. "I worry about her. I don't even know what her old team was called."

Coco's brow furrowed as she thought about it. "You know, neither do I."

Before they could contemplate it further, Velvet walked in from the bathroom, already dressed in her pajamas.

"Sorry Velvs, I stole your spot," Coco said, though she made no move to relinquish it.

Velvet just shrugged and tossed her towel over her desk chair. "I don't mind. Though, if we pushed these two beds together, all four of us could cuddle more easily," she said, gesturing to her bed as well as Yatsu's. "Watch a movie, unwind."

Coco's face brightened and they quickly did so, Fox coming out and grabbing the blankets and pillows from the other two beds.

They all collapsed on top of the mountain of bedding together, curling up around one another in a tangle of limbs.

"As much as I like this," Coco muttered from under Yatsu's arm. "We should talk about it."

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Velvet and I have talked about the four of us dating one another if you wanted to as well."

Velvet sat up a little to watch Coco and Fox's reactions, grateful to see that they were smiling. "I mean, we were planning on asking you to the dance," Fox commented, wrapping his arms around Velvet a little more tightly.

"Would have said yes," she said, Yatsuhashi echoing her. The smile she offered in return was interrupted by a gentle kiss from Fox.

"Just the four of us, though?" Coco asked, hesitation creeping into her voice.

Yatsu tilted her head up to offer her a kiss in turn. "Just us," he agreed readily, Velvet and Fox both nodding in agreement.

Coco reached out to hold Velvet's hand, who shyly tangled their fingers together.

* * *

The debrief the next morning started well enough - both Coco and Velvet giving their parts of the story when the four of them split. (They left out the argument and the self-doubt - that was something the four of them could handle on their own.)

Port started to respond, but then there was a hiccup of static on the school's PA system.

When the alarms started blaring, signaling an emergency in the city, Coco's head thumped against the table. "Everything _else_ on this mission went sideways, so why not the debrief as well?" she asked the wood grain.

"Good heavens!" he said, getting to his feet and retrieving his weapon from where it was mounted on the wall. "We'll finish this conversation later; we need to get to the city."


	11. Chapter 11

**AN:** This chapter has literally been in the works since I first drafted _A Fresh Cup of Coffee_. I hope you enjoy.

* * *

Another day, another airship. They tried not to think too hard about it. The sounds of the battle - civilian screams, gunshots and grim roars alike - reached them long before they saw the hole in the wall and the grimm taking over the streets.

The ship got in as close as it could, hovering just high enough for them to be able to jump out safely.

Velvet didn't wait for Coco to give the order - the four of them knew what to do - jumping out of the airship, having faith that the others would be just a step behind her.

She led the charge, Fox following her into the fray with Coco and Yatsuhashi taking up the rear.

Focusing on the grimm ahead of her was easy, though she began to calculate the next steps and how the rest of the battle would go.

Once Fox was grounded in his surroundings, Velvet went to Coco's side to help mop up the grimm that continued to come in through the massive hole in the wall.

One of her rabbit ears twitched as she looked over the grimm that had surrounded the two of them. She reached for her weapon, doing the mental calculations of what she should pull. If she started with Coco's gun, she could take out most of the smaller, faster grimm, then pull out Thulian's bracers to soften the larger ones…

"Hey!"

Coco's sharp order drew her attention. "Come on, you just spent all the semester building that up. Don't waste it here."

She startled slightly at Coco's words, relaxing her grip on her camera box - it was true she had, but at the same time she felt like she'd be better able to contribute if she pulled out her weapon.

But then Coco unfolded her own purse and started to mow down the grimm surrounding them.

Right - of course, Coco hadn't even pulled her weapon yet, and there was considerably less danger with her using it than if Velvet had pulled hers. And Velvet was a perfectly capable fighter without her weapon. It was just nice to have in a pinch.

 _Coco thinks well on her feet, that's why she's the leader,_ Velvet reminded herself, darting off to take care of more of the grimm.

She was relieved - she didn't have to make such decisions and calls like that on the fly - she could relax and let Coco do the heavy lifting.

After the past week, a few grim trying to overrun downtown Vale just wasn't that scary.

* * *

Yatsuhashi watched as Roman Torchwick was arrested. He should have been pleased at the turn of events.

But there was something off about the whole situation that he didn't like.

* * *

Team CFVY was supposed to have sparring class the day after the fight in downtown Vale, but Coco instead went to see if they could be excused from the session.

Coco frowned at the schedule she'd been given as she walked to Professor Goodwitch's office. It was just for the four on four matches but...

Team CFVY was to fight on the first day.

It shouldn't have been that unusual, but the first day was usually saved for the big headline matches - siblings of former champions, the previous tournament's winners, and other 'celebrities'. It didn't bode well for their chances for moving onto the second round.

She shrugged, figuring that wasn't the point of the exercise anyway.

Knocking on the office doorway, it was only a moment before Professor Goodwitch called her into the room.

"Miss Adel, it's good to see you. Is there something I could help you with?" she asked, gesturing to the chair on the other side of the desk from her. "If it's about class today, considering everything it's been canceled. I was about to send out a message."

Coco slumped into the seat. "It was, thank you professor. I don't want to take up any more of your time - "

"Actually, Miss Adel, I wanted to speak with you about an unrelated matter, if you have a moment."

She sat up straight, caught slightly off-guard by the question. "Of course, professor." Goodwitch wasn't one to idly ask for a moment of her time.

"Are you planning on participating in the Vytal Festival tournament?"

 _That_ got Coco's attention. After Goodwitch had been so keen to see team CFVY participate, the question of if they'd still do it was unexpected. "We were."

Pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose, she asked, "Have you gotten a chance to review team CFVY's schedule for the tournament?"

"I saw it on my way here. Does this have to do with us being scheduled on the first day?"

Goodwitch's lips pursed. "How much do you know about how the fights are scheduled?"

Coco frowned. "Not much. My family was involved a few years ago when it was in Atlas, but I was young and I don't remember much. I mean, I've followed the tournament for long enough that I know the four on four isn't completely random - advertising when celebrity fights are going to take place certainly negates that."

Goodwitch nodded. "The Vytal festival tournament has media managers who help arrange the big fights in order to drum up ratings. Generally, they work with the headmaster of the hosting school to pick the headline fights." She sighed. "Unfortunately, your team has been targeted as a celebrity fight."

"I'm sorry?"

"Professor Ozpin and I don't know how the promoters found out about what happened to Velvet, but they did. We suspect Professor Lionheart may have tipped their hand, but regardless, you will be facing team MRRN from Haven in your first fight." Goodwitch pulled up the information on her computer screen.

Coco scowled at Faris' face. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because Professor Ozpin and I disagree with how it was handled, and so we were given some leeway with how it was handled. The story won't be told on the broadcast. It won't be promoted any more than a regular fight, and you would have the right to withdraw from the tournament before having to fight team MRRN."

Coco stared at the faces, reeling with this information. "Why us?"

"You understand that Velvet leaving was a much bigger deal to Haven than it was for Faris to leave here. There was no way to do it subtly. It's become something of a legend over there. But I know Miss Scarlatina has enjoyed her privacy here at Beacon and we want to support that if we can."

Coco shook her head to clear it, but nothing was helping. "We can withdraw, though, right?"

"Yes. I want to impress upon you the unique situation we have here. We absolutely cannot have any missteps if you go through with the tournament. You must understand, Miss Adel, that under the circumstances even a true accident will be scrutinized and likely result in your team's removal from the tournament, possibly even the perpetrator's expulsion - and perhaps yours as well."

"Can you send me that?" Coco asked, pointing at the team roster. "I want to discuss this with the rest of my team."

"Of course, Miss Adel. The offer to withdraw will remain open for as long as you need."

"Thank you, professor."

This was too much - too big to even start thinking about on her own. Just knowing that she would have to face Velvet's old tormentors on the battlefield and be polite about it - nevermind Goodwitch's odd statements.

She pulled out her scroll - pleased to see that Goodwitch had already sent over the information - and called an emergency team meeting.

* * *

The other three were already in the dorm when she got back, sprawled out on the double bed they'd made and never bothered to separate. Coco kicked off her shoes and joined them, leaning back against the headboard.

"They want us to fight team MRRN for the four on four," Coco said. At the blank looks from all of them - even Velvet - she clarified: "Velvet's old team."

Velvet flinched back.

"We don't have to. This is why Professor Goodwitch told us early. We can withdraw without any repercussions. The fight isn't going to be publicized, but she said something about it being of interest to Haven's students in particular? I didn't really follow it."

"I would not say no to fighting Velvet's old team." Yatsuhashi's usually stoic face held a smirk instead.

Coco held up her hand. "It's not that simple. We cannot have any accidents during this fight. Not a bruise or a hair out of place. Goodwitch mentioned expulsion was not out of the realm of possibilities - for whoever went too far." Quieter, almost as an afterthought. "And, likely, me."

"I can't promise, but I would try," Yatsuhashi said. "As much as I would love to see them hurt, this is not the time nor is it the place."

Fox voiced his agreement with the plan.

Coco turned to her last teammate, who hadn't spoken since the reveal of who their opponent would be. "Velvet, I want to make it clear you have executive override here. If you want to back out, we will, no questions asked."

Velvet put her hand on her stomach. "I - I don't know."

"You don't have to decide now," Yatsuhashi reassured her, looking to Coco for confirmation.

"We have until the day of the match to decide. You don't have to make a decision now."

Velvet nodded, leaning against Yatsuhashi.

"I have a question," Fox said, reaching out to put a hand on Velvet's knee. "Team maroon? V and S don't fit into that color name."

"Perhaps someone changed their name," Yatsuhashi said. It wasn't unheard of, and schools did their best to be accommodating.

Velvet cocked her head. "They had to, when I left."

"Colors with a V sound aren't that common," Coco said. "What R, M, N, and V or S? Or maybe a different initial for the others too..."

"Do - do you not know?" Velvet said, pulling a pillow towards her to hug it to her stomach.

"Ozpin never said anything about your team name to us. I think he assumed you'd tell us or thought it wasn't relevant."

Velvet buried her face in the pillow. "Vermilion," she mumbled. "VRMN."

The room went still.

"VRMN," Coco confirmed, not sure she'd heard that right. "As in - "

Velvet sat up and threw the pillow across the room at the wall. "You don't have to rub it in! Yes! I was the leader of my team back at Haven, okay?"

Her teammates went completely still.

" _What?!_ "

* * *

 **AN:** Because this won't be addressed at all: Lionheart told the promoters about CFVY and MRRN because Salem wanted to sow discord. It also increases the chances of CFVY withdrawing or being disqualified - the latter of which would sow even more discord.

It would have been easier, by far, to name the other team something like KFVE - still pronounced coffee - and call it a day. But that wasn't the story I wanted to tell. Also - y'all - it was a pain in the ass to come up with a team name that started with a V that then could be morphed into a different name that didn't make Farris leader. 0/10 do _not_ recommend.

Shout out to Ling_San on AO3 for figuring it out. Brownie points for anyone who goes back and finds all the foreshadowing I did. (There's a lot - starting in chapter one.)

As for the elephant in the room, my life is on fire, and has been for the past year. My life continues to be on fire as I struggle with my own demons and other issues. Bear with me please. In better news, my first book is coming out later this year. So there's that. ( _True Trans Bike Rebel_ from Microcosm Publishing, if you're interested.)


End file.
